Saturday 14 June 2008

I'm Not There [2007]


There’s a saying in music circles that if one has ever heard music, he must have heard Beethoven, Beetles and Dylan. This surreal, quirky, stylized (and I daresay, heavily cerebral) movie is a convoluted biopic of the poet, the preacher, the philosopher, the songwriter, the protest singer, the rebel, the outlaw, and the unparalleled voice of a generation, who all went by the name of Bob Dylan. Instead of just following the life of Dylan, this offbeat movie has captured his various alter-egos (six brilliant performances have brought an assorted, albeit eclectic, stages of Dylan and his times) and has portrayed his thoughts and ideas. The movie, which is so European in its feel and execution, and so not American, is as irreverent, iconoclastic, ground-breaking and anti-establishmentarian as the great man himself was (and still is). Great performances by the ensemble cast (including Cate Blanchett, Heath Ledger, Richard Gere, Christian Bale, etc), backed by a terrific soundtrack peppered with the quintessential voice and words of the celebrated troubadour, have made watching this otherwise difficult movie a unique and exhilarating experience.








Director: Todd Haynes
Genre: Drama/Biopic/Avant-Garde/Experimental/Musical Drama
Language: English
Country: US

6 comments:

Adrenaline and all that Jazzz said...

Seven simple rules of going into hiding: one, never trust a cop in a raincoat. Two, beware of enthusiasm and of love, both are temporary and quick to sway. Three, if asked if you care about the world's problems, look deep into the eyes of he who asks, he will never ask you again. Four, never give your real name. Five, if ever asked to look at yourself, don't. Six, never do anything the person standing in front of you cannot understand. And finally seven, never create anything, it will be misinterpreted, it will chain you and follow you for the rest of your life.

Adrenaline and all that Jazzz said...

and all he could ever do, is be himself...whoever that is.

Shubhajit said...

Amazing comment! Thanks bro...

Adrenaline and all that Jazzz said...

Guess it's about time you delve into Documentary reviews ...
Don't look back and
No direction home, would be be perfect to mark it's inception. Have you had the pleasure of seeing 'Eat the Document' it's his directorial debut.

Shubhajit said...

Haven't heard of it. Will look it up.

I've watched No Direction Home. I really liked it, especially for the fact that it didn't further mythify Dylan. I also felt saddened on hearing Joan Baez's comments. She is still very much in love with the man.

Adrenaline and all that Jazzz said...

but 'The Man' isn't ...
no direction home is almost a sequel to Don't look back(almost)... ofcourse it's got mr. Scorsese behind it... otherwise comparatively Don't look back, is far superior, but that's just me.
What about Pat garret and Billy the Kid? also check out 'The other side of the Mirror.