IM NOT HERE
i just saw “im not there” at BAFTA. it reminded me of smoking weed with my friend larry in college and exchanging dylan anecdotes (that we had read or extrapolated). like those hazy stoned days the movie had moments of sparkling genius and gripping depth surrounded by a lot of ridiculous, unfocused, tenuous connections, fanboy obsessiveness, and personal indulgences.
and because dylan’s songs and his (imagined) life story are such a big part of my life, i couldn’t help but feel like my subconscious was being violated, like the movie was masturbating onto my collective unconscious. you’ll know what i mean if you’re a big dylan fan and you see this movie. (further deeper connections to this analogy: when i used to get super high with larry i would sometimes go yank it in the bathroom because i was 19 and stoned outta my mahnd and crazy horny.)
during the Q&A i asked todd haynes (the director) if he ever felt that he “didn’t have the right” to masturbate on my memories. in response he said, “i probably got some stuff wrong, but my blind spots are what make me the filmmaker i am. just like altman’s blind spots make him the filmmaker he is.” (paraphrased). pretty good answer. i met todd after and we chatted and he was really lovely and cool.
