Category: A Movie

I was thinking about the movie, “Capote” with Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener, and the intriguing life of Truman Capote. His thin voice seemed to suit him, his big personality was enjoyed by many and took him far as did his talent. In the movie we see him reading the article about the four murders of a family on a farm in Kansas, and making two decisions then and there: Here is the story for his next book, and to leave for Kansas that very evening. How did he decide so quickly that that is what he wanted to write about? And what went wrong when he got involved in the researching and writing of it?

He went from writing “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to writing “In Cold Blood”. Quite a change. I’d read about the flamboyant author, his free spirit and, of course, saw the highly publicized and entertaining movie, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” with Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Mickey Rooney and Patricia Neal. Who would have thought so much was going on within him while he was writing his next book? On the back of the CD cover for the movie “Capote” is written: “Famed author Truman Capote befriends two murderers while researching his celebrated book, “In Cold Blood” – and finds himself changed to the core.”

On a much smaller scale it makes me think of when we get caught in the clutches of a negative person and the conversation with that person begins to dissipate our energy and leaves us changed a bit, not as upbeat as before. We have to snap out of that feeling before it lingers and lasts longer than it should. Maybe it started unraveling for Truman Capote when he began interviewing and listening to the murderers talk about their lonesome, uncared for childhoods, and of murdering the family of four in cold blood. And when they asked him if he would come to the execution of their death sentences, and he did, the misery, violence and ugliness that was the life of the two murderers got to him.

What would have happened had he not read that story in The New York Times? Perhaps one day I’ll buy the book, “Capote” by Gerald Clark and read more about his interesting and complicated life and what fueled his other books.

There’s a film, The Impassioned Eye, about henri cartier-bresson, “the man considered to be the greatest photographer of the last century and the grandfather of photojournalism.” It’s wonderfully done and anyone interested in art will surely enjoy it. Watching Cartier-Bresson talk about his work, pointing out facts about his pictures, about light and natural geometry, about the people, places and events he photographed, will have you listening and learning, not that you have to learn, but you’ll want to. He was born in 1908 and this film came out in 2003-his eyes were clear, his mind was alert, his movements were gentle, and his face had a steady calmness. The love he had for life and for what he did showed with every sentence he spoke. That was one of the pleasures of watching the film.

His photographs cover a broad area; they have history. He traveled through many decades and many countries. His beautiful work shows his love of people, places, photography.

If I may borrow some words from the movie Something’s Gotta Give, I’d like to say that it’s a film to love.

My Architect is an inspiring documentary about a son wanting to know his father, the architect Lou Kahn, who died alone in the men’s restroom at Penn Station in NYC without any identification. This fascinating man traveled extensively, designed beautiful buildings around the world; seemed to be appreciated and understood more so in the east than in the west; was the father of three children, and was loved by his wife who said, “Lou owned nothing, books and that sort of thing. He didn’t care about money.” She went on to say that, “he could have been a billionaire, but. . . .”  He also had two mistresses who loved him, and two children from those two relationships.

Nearing the end of the movie there’s an interview with Indian architect B.V. Doshi, who said to the son, Nathaniel, that, “Lou had reached that state of superconsciousness where for him everything was alive, and everything was in the state of transformation. . . .”

Israeli-born architect, Moshe Safdie said of Lou Kahn, “. . . he was a very spiritual person . . .  ” and, “he was a real nomad and as tragic as his death was in a railroad station, it was so consistent with his life.” After watching the movie I sensed that if Lou Kahn were to send word to us, he’d probably say he had no problem with dying alone at Penn Station.

Architect , Shamsul Wares when interviewed in Dhaka, Bangladesh cried as he spoke of him, and had extraordinary things to say about Lou Kahn, the man, the architect, the nomad, and the way he lived his life.

We follow Nathaniel as he pieces together the life of his father. Through numerous interviews, and journeys around the world, and in seeing the beauty in the magnificent buildings his father designed, he finally understood his father . . . well, as much as anyone can understand another.

This is not a razzmatazz, can’t catch your breath kind of movie. Rather it’s about a wildly interesting man who lived life on his own terms.

it’s a beautifully-made documentary. Good job Nathaniel.

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“The real does not die, the unreal never lived. Set your mind right and all will be right. When you know that the world is one, that humanity is one, you will act accordingly. But first of all you must attend to the way you feel, think and live. Unless there is order in yourself, there can be no order in the world.”  –  Nisargadatta Maharaj