>>REVIEW
PIONEERS OF THE UNDERGROUND
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis
DIRECTED BY Mary Jordan
Saturday, April 14
EMMedia Screening Room
Rarely screened, constantly changing and wildly artistic, the work of filmmaker Jack Smith is the stuff of legend to film aficionados. A major influence on an entire generation of artists including Andy Warhol and John Waters, Smith’s films, plays, photos and other eclectic art projects are the epitome of underground.
In her documentary, Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis, Mary Jordan attempts to shed some light on the strange career and life of this eccentric artist. Jordan combines clips of his many films and home movies with interviews with family and friends, as well as audio recordings of Smith himself.
In its best moments, Jordan shows a sad portrait of a strange man, alienating friends and family, raging against the world and crippled by his own inner turmoil. At its worst, the documentary becomes as inaccessible as much of Smith’s own works, becoming a beautiful collage of vacant images, all accompanied by Smith’s unceasing anti-industry and anti-capitalist rants.
As it turns, out the great auteur spent all of his time hating capitalism – all of it. As much fun as it is to hate capitalism every now and then, after the first hour, the film feels a bit like getting stuck in a conversation with a zealot. You find yourself just nodding politely and hoping he will run out of steam.
This may be the only chance that many audiences ever get to see clips of Smith’s work, and Jordan does a good job of unearthing the story behind one of 1970s New York’s most enigmatic figures. Smith was an artist who lived his art, and for better or for worse Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis shows that life for what it truly was.
Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis is presented by the Calgary Underground Film Festival. It is part of a three-film series and takes place on Saturday, April 14 from 1:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the EMMedia Screening Room. |
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