I've been a fan of Townes Van Zandt's music for a while. Well, as much of a "fan" as you can be only knowing two of his songs ("Pancho and Lefty" and his cover of "Dead Flowers" from The Big Lebowski soundtrack). His albums can be difficult to find and I'd heard random tidbits over the years about his legendary substance abuses and bouts of depression, so when I saw the VanZandt documentary "Be Here To Love Me" on the shelf at the video store, I had to pick it up.
As opposed to many of the "troubled-and-not-appreciated-in-their-own-time" musician biopics I've seen lately ("Fallen Angel" being a good example), "Be Here To Love Me" was actually an incredibly well-directed and beautiful shot documentary, mixing filmed concert footage with home movies, audio interviews & experimental visual elements, all in a very cohesive and non-pretentious way. The interviews with Townes' friends and collegues were intimate and revelatory, featuring performers as diverse as Willie Nelson and Sonic Youth's Steve Shelley.
"Be Here To Love Me" is a beautiful portait of one of America's greatest songwriters and is available to rent from Waterfront Video.
1 comment:
Townes is on my frequently played list, i've not yet seen the film but i've been eyeing it for a while now. Such a sad story though.
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