Dawn

Sun, 10 Dec 2006 04:56:44 -0800

"It's not the graphic sex that's the problem, it's the lack of a coherent plot." Actually, it's the lack of your typical, generic, run-of-the-mill, linear, "coherant" plot that makes this film so unforgettable and brilliant. It's what makes it multidimensional, and gets the cogs of the mind and soul turning. It's not really all that incoherant either if you use your brain and imagination. The symbolism can start to make sense after a while if you contemplate it. It can be either personal or impersonal. It can be anything you wish it to. Even though Crispin had specific interpretations in mind which he will not give away to spoil the fun. It is up to you to figure it out. How many movies made these days allow us such a pleasure? Do you not enjoy puzzles and thinking about things? One-dimensional, simplistic plots are not always a good thing in my opinion. Maybe they are good for those who have a lazy intellect? They do not much stimulate the imagination. They are also way overdone. Almost every movie that comes out these days follows the same repetitive stale formula.. over and over again it's like watching the same movie since the formulas are never veered from, like hearing a broken record skip. How many times can one watch the same plot and ideas over and over again until extreme boredom sets in? I find "What Is It?" extremely refreshing, to say the least! This is the kind of gifted creativity one usually comes across only in dreams. And the story is really not as senseless as it at first seems. It does have a plot or plots cleverly woven throughout it in multiple tendrils and levels that can be grasped by the mind. It's just not easy to translate into language is all. But that is closer to genuine truth and art anyway. Truth must be intuited through the heart, not ordered through the simplistic dogma of the mouth. You have to look to your heart for truth. If you look for it in others and outside authorities, you will never find it; rather, you may find yourself very lost and empty. The moment you limit the absolute with words, it is no longer the absolute. The name Crispin Hellion Glover is going to be immortalized through all time for these films. He will be known as one of the greatest filmmakers to ever exist, right up there with his idols Herzog and Kubrick. No one but him could have thought up such a thing. He is true to himself, and full of integrity, and he proves to be such a thing can still pay off in this jaded and corrupt world. You don't have to sell your soul to succeed artistically and create true art. There are original ideas still to be found. But we have to learn to tap into deeper realms of the psyche to find them. It's time to evolve as a culture and a species.

tomdog

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 22:16:27 -0800

how do you feel about Fassbinder or Herzog films hc? I don't think that Glover was attempting to make a linear plot-driven film so I don't think what he is saying is misrepresenting what he did. You obviously had a different set of expectations before going in to the film.

hc

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 15:54:31 -0800

I saw a screening of this movie in Austin. There are many things to like and admire about Crispin Glover but this movie isn't one of them. I wanted to like it, or even see some artistic merit in it, and I tried. But bizarre and esoteric doesn't being to describe this. Bizarre and esoteric makes it sound like it might be good. It's not the graphic sex that's the problem, it's the lack of a coherent plot. All the stuff Glover says about the movie sounds great, but I didn't get any of that from watching it.

tomdog

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 15:10:55 -0800

yeah - that guy is amazing!

LAist: What Is It? -- Q&A with Crispin Hellion Glover

Dawn

tomdog

hc

tomdog