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a musician, I truly savor films which are made in
effigy, in historical retrospect or just in plain
celebration of the lives and artwork of other,
considerably better known musicians. And the
musician or band in question does not play into
this fascination; it is becoming acquainted with
small pieces of the people, and their experiences
that aided in producing unforgettable songs and
cultural movements, which renders me
indiscriminate. Basically, I'm open to watching
any musical documentary and when asked if I would
review "Townes Van Zandt: Be Here to Love
Me" I hastily approved the request.
Not immediately familiar with
his work, I cued up one of his songs, "To
Live is to Fly" and heard a beautiful guitar
being plucked under a sweet melancholy voice which
sang, "Living's mostly wastin' time/ and I'll
waste my share of mine/ but it never feels to
good/ so let's don't take too long." This
callous, poetic sentiment, which was paradoxically
betrayed by the hope in his instrument and longing
in his voice, foreshadowed a lot about the Townes
Van Zandt portrayed in the documentary.
Director Margaret Brown
paints with a universal stroke in her understated
tribute to this cult folk hero. Van Zandt is
re-birthed through old concert footage, audio
recordings and testimonials from some of his
closest companions. We come to know him as the
prototype of that self destructive friend whom we
can not help but love no matter how much he abuses
us or himself. Van Zandt's soul was ignited by
songwriting, performing, and a quest for personal
identity, but his body was easily infiltrated by
the temptations of addiction. On the road, Van
Zandt garnered moderate fame, and also on the road
he versed himself in a multiplicity of addictions,
including alcohol, drugs (heroin), wives and in
those inspired moments, songs. The symptoms of
those addictions ruined his health, impaired his
work and strained his interpersonal relations with
the ones he claimed to love.
Though born into a wealthy
and prominent family in
Texas
, Townes was drawn to the rolling stone lifestyle
of the singer-songwriter era blossoming in the
early sixties. Instead of wasting away his life in
the idol languor common to those endowed with a
trust fund, this charming rambler began playing
local clubs, working out his chops so that he
would be able to give people his songs and at the
same time pay for booze. These initial flurries
into the mystique filled world of the traveling
musician soon consumed and propelled him into a
long lasting, albeit tumultuous career.
What I admire most about the
documentary is its lack of timidity. While Brown
does work intently to shine the legend light on
Van Zandt, she never backs away from the sad
uselessness of addiction. Townes Van Zandt
certainly had a penchant for recklessness
spiraling through his chromosomes. He supposedly
threw himself off of a four story high balcony on
purpose, pinned his fraternity emblem through the
flesh of his bare chest and attempted to huff
three tubes of airplane glue at once, resulting in
the gluing of his mouth shut. We are then left
pondering an important question: What comes first?
The Chicken or the Egg? Does the stereotyped
lifestyle of musicians lead to addiction or is the
creative mind just more vulnerable to these
temptations? In this case, the viewer is left to
judge.
Even though "Be Here to
Love Me" is a comprehensive study of a gifted
musician, it could also serve as a great deterrent
for anyone interested in taking up drug use. Van
Zandt eventually loses his life at a fairly early
age, but death is sometimes not as feared as those
consequences which must be endured in life. His
musician friends who are interviewed, like Guy
Clarke and Kris Kristofferson, have minds that
have clearly been blown by years of heavy abuse.
Guy Clarke's far out laugh is both the most
entertaining and frightening facial gesture I have
ever seen. And Van Zandt's chronically riddled
health and odd relationships with his multiple
wives (not simultaneously), children and friends
are fair warning as well.
Ultimately, "Be Here to
Love Me" is a great ode to Van Zandt and the
culture he represented. The subtly poignant
soundtrack is weary, apathetic and touching, and
the footage of Van Zandt performing and conversing
with his audiences will make you smile
uncontrollably. Music lovers will surely enjoy the
documentary, and fans of Townes Van Zandt will no
doubt drink a toast. We all know a Townes Van
Zandt, but in the world of music, there was only
one.
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