A documentary which chronicles the life and work of acclaimed cinematographer Haskell Wexler, made by his son Mark, focussing on Wexler Senior's films and political ideals but also on their opposing viewpoints and often strained relationship.
This is a documentary about a very interesting guy. Haskell Wexler shot some of the most important movies of the last forty years (In The Heat Of The Night, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Bound For Glory, Matewan) and has a reputation as a difficult perfectionist for whom artistic integrity is an absolute must. He is also a documentary filmmaker who specialises in thought-provoking anti-establishment reportage (such as 1965's The Bus, about the Civil Rights movement). In this film he comes across as someone whose intelligence and strength of character are admirable (despite being eighty and having led a fairly heady lifestyle, he's in great physical shape), but whose priorities and self-importance are highly questionable. He's constantly belittling Wexler Junior, sometimes justifiably (who needs an artistic sunset shot in a documentary) but often for no reason at all, and you can't help feeling that a man who puts his career and his politics before his family isn't half as smart as he thinks he is. The most interesting aspect is the contrast between Wexler and his friend and fellow cameraman Conrad Hall (to whom the film is dedicated); Hall was just as gifted and acclaimed as Wexler, but without the eogcentrism, and Wexler Junior can't help but admit he'd have preferred Hall as a dad. This is a curio - part Hollywood bio, part family reconciliation film - but it's well-made, touching and funny, with a sensational cadre of commentators. Well worth a look. 5/10
This is a documentary about a very interesting guy. Haskell Wexler shot some of the most important movies of the last forty years (In The Heat Of The Night, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Bound For Glory, Matewan) and has a reputation as a difficult perfectionist for whom artistic integrity is an absolute must. He is also a documentary filmmaker who specialises in thought-provoking anti-establishment reportage (such as 1965's The Bus, about the Civil Rights movement). In this film he comes across as someone whose intelligence and strength of character are admirable (despite being eighty and having led a fairly heady lifestyle, he's in great physical shape), but whose priorities and self-importance are highly questionable. He's constantly belittling Wexler Junior, sometimes justifiably (who needs an artistic sunset shot in a documentary) but often for no reason at all, and you can't help feeling that a man who puts his career and his politics before his family isn't half as smart as he thinks he is. The most interesting aspect is the contrast between Wexler and his friend and fellow cameraman Conrad Hall (to whom the film is dedicated); Hall was just as gifted and acclaimed as Wexler, but without the eogcentrism, and Wexler Junior can't help but admit he'd have preferred Hall as a dad. This is a curio - part Hollywood bio, part family reconciliation film - but it's well-made, touching and funny, with a sensational cadre of commentators. Well worth a look. 5/10
