People are praising and panning this movie with equal eloquence and conviction. It's the same dynamic in debates about Dylan himself. Even those that swear by him can generally understand why someone would not, without thinking the other a charlatan. Bob has been re-deified by a new generation, though this is historically maybe the 5th cycle.While Dylan still tours, these days the faithful often assess the shows based merely on the detection of any apparent sincere gesture or sign of emotion from the man. New Dylan curios frequently leave scratching their heads after the nearly irrelevant spectacle of a real live modern day Dylan concert. They'd be better off going backwards instead. Perhaps harsh, but perhaps better to imagine he did die in the motorcycle crash, as Todd Haynes suggests in his film as he closes his eyes and falls backwards into the man, his music, and mythology. Haynes is impressionistic with the chronology of “events” portrayed in the film. It's a dream logic and a surrealistic montage. Viewers are perhaps advised to watch it as a dream or as if they themselves were dreaming, and not try to connect too many dots (until maybe the second viewing). Until I figured this method out I was a little miffed at the movie and let my friend (not a Dylan fan) know that I would be ready to blow out if she was. But when she said she was loving it, I relaxed my cynicism and gave myself over to the screen.
Haynes clearly got a little obsessed doing his homework and integrating his findings into this 2+ hour long cypher of a film. For some, it will probably feel like a big in-joke. Those who will enjoy it most are the Dylan mega-geeks who can play spot the reference in every scene, and those who are artistic-minded enough to indulge Haynes in his courageous experiment; attempting a piece of art as compelling as its subject. In this respect, I think he has succeeded. The film is as confounding as it is delightful, just as Dylan was himself. Haynes has arguably made a movie that is not about Dylan; it is Dylan. And kudos to the the shirtless soy-bomb guy that suddenly danced for the crowd in a recreation of the notorious Grammy stunt.
Richie Havens appears in the film in a memorable scene with "Woody Guthrie" playing "Tombstone Blues." Havens brings his brilliance to the Iron Horse on Sunday, December 30th for two shows at 7 & 10PM.
--Jim Neill
"What I'm talking about is traditional music ... with all these songs about roses growing out of people's brains and lovers who are really geese and swans that turn into angels -- they're not going to die. ... You'd think these traditional music people would gather that mystery is a traditional fact. These things are so full of mystery ... contradictions ... chaos, clocks, watermelons, it's everything. People think I have some kind of fantastic imagination. It gets very lonesome. Traditional music ... it's too unreal to die. ... And in that music is the only true valid death you can feel today off a record player. Like everything else in great demand people try to own it. ... I think it's the meaninglessness that's holy." -Bob Dylan
