really real
2008-06-11 14:40:51 UTC
Two things are most amazing about the movie I'm Not There, one being the
creative brilliance of capturing Dylan with five metaphorical
characters. The other is that Dylan went along with it and let Todd
Haynes use his music. This is the first time Dylan has so blessed a
project about him.
Haynes talks about how getting the rights to the music was essential to
the film. Thus the strongest thing about the movie is way the music
works in I'm Not There, and the way the movie deals with the theme of
Dylan's poetry.
The first time we hear Dylan talk in the movie is when we hear the
voice-over saying "a poem is like a naked person."
We next see one of the Dylans saying "but a song is something that walks
by itself."
Then, to a grainy b&w backdrop of New York street scenes, circa '64, the
song Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again begins as we
start to see the movie credits
Now I am a real sucker for visuals with music, and not only does this
make a great rock video, I remember how incredible the song sounded in
on a theater sound system. And could Haynes have picked a better song to
show off Dylan's ground breaking pop music surrealism with its dazzling
poetry?
By the time the song talks about Texas medicine and mixing things up,
the backdrop goes to cinematic scenic colour and we see Richard Gere as
Billy the Kid. Then there's a train and the movie beings with the eleven
year old Woody jumping aboard.
The movie then begins with this incredible kid telling his musical story
to two hobos on the train, using familiar phrases from Dylan interviews
and song lyrics, merging the myths of Woody Guthrie and the wild early
stories of the real Bob Dylan. And then the movie switches to an
interrogation scene, where the electric Dylan is being questioned as to
why he stopped writing. When he's accused of being fatalistic, the
Rimbaud/Dylan character responds:
"I'm not fatalistic, bank tellers are fatalistic. clerks are fatalistic.
I'm a farmer. Who ever heard of a fatalistic farmer?"
To illustrate this farmer metaphor, we're plunged back into a rural
scene, with Woody/Dylan on a back porch, along with Ritchie Havens,
singing an incredible version of Tombstone Blues. Once again, we get
another stunningly poetic Dylan song. Of all the cover versions in the
movie, I think this version of Tombstone Blues works the best. Talk
about illustrating the line "and like a fool I mixed them."
I'd never heard the farmer metaphor being used with Dylan before. Is
this from some interview Todd Haynes found, or did he make it up?
creative brilliance of capturing Dylan with five metaphorical
characters. The other is that Dylan went along with it and let Todd
Haynes use his music. This is the first time Dylan has so blessed a
project about him.
Haynes talks about how getting the rights to the music was essential to
the film. Thus the strongest thing about the movie is way the music
works in I'm Not There, and the way the movie deals with the theme of
Dylan's poetry.
The first time we hear Dylan talk in the movie is when we hear the
voice-over saying "a poem is like a naked person."
We next see one of the Dylans saying "but a song is something that walks
by itself."
Then, to a grainy b&w backdrop of New York street scenes, circa '64, the
song Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again begins as we
start to see the movie credits
Now I am a real sucker for visuals with music, and not only does this
make a great rock video, I remember how incredible the song sounded in
on a theater sound system. And could Haynes have picked a better song to
show off Dylan's ground breaking pop music surrealism with its dazzling
poetry?
By the time the song talks about Texas medicine and mixing things up,
the backdrop goes to cinematic scenic colour and we see Richard Gere as
Billy the Kid. Then there's a train and the movie beings with the eleven
year old Woody jumping aboard.
The movie then begins with this incredible kid telling his musical story
to two hobos on the train, using familiar phrases from Dylan interviews
and song lyrics, merging the myths of Woody Guthrie and the wild early
stories of the real Bob Dylan. And then the movie switches to an
interrogation scene, where the electric Dylan is being questioned as to
why he stopped writing. When he's accused of being fatalistic, the
Rimbaud/Dylan character responds:
"I'm not fatalistic, bank tellers are fatalistic. clerks are fatalistic.
I'm a farmer. Who ever heard of a fatalistic farmer?"
To illustrate this farmer metaphor, we're plunged back into a rural
scene, with Woody/Dylan on a back porch, along with Ritchie Havens,
singing an incredible version of Tombstone Blues. Once again, we get
another stunningly poetic Dylan song. Of all the cover versions in the
movie, I think this version of Tombstone Blues works the best. Talk
about illustrating the line "and like a fool I mixed them."
I'd never heard the farmer metaphor being used with Dylan before. Is
this from some interview Todd Haynes found, or did he make it up?