First, let me say that I don't even particularly like jazz.
And I am a rather grumpy individual who is really not a people person. BUT...
This documentary made me feel like there is hope for humanity. It left me with a warm and rosy glow. It's not really a "music doc," it's about mentoring and relationships and having a passion for something.
The director is actually a jazz musician, not a film guy. As a former student and mentee of Clark Terry, he felt that this remarkable man's story needed to have a wider audience and set about making the film. But you would never know it was a "first," the direction and editing is so very accomplished.
The people at the center of the film, Clark Terry, aging trumpet virtuoso, his brave and compassionate wife, and the young, blind pianist whose fledgling career the film follows, are so wonderfully compelling. So, too, is the way it portrays the way art (I don't think it matters if its music or visual art or literature) transforms people, the way it can transcend the difficulties of life, how it can bind you to others, how important it is that it be nurtured. It does so without being preachy, without being melodramatic, with humor and love and inspiration.
all right, I'm gushing, aren't I? That's what a film like this can do, even to a cranky old misanthrope!
And I am a rather grumpy individual who is really not a people person. BUT...
This documentary made me feel like there is hope for humanity. It left me with a warm and rosy glow. It's not really a "music doc," it's about mentoring and relationships and having a passion for something.
The director is actually a jazz musician, not a film guy. As a former student and mentee of Clark Terry, he felt that this remarkable man's story needed to have a wider audience and set about making the film. But you would never know it was a "first," the direction and editing is so very accomplished.
The people at the center of the film, Clark Terry, aging trumpet virtuoso, his brave and compassionate wife, and the young, blind pianist whose fledgling career the film follows, are so wonderfully compelling. So, too, is the way it portrays the way art (I don't think it matters if its music or visual art or literature) transforms people, the way it can transcend the difficulties of life, how it can bind you to others, how important it is that it be nurtured. It does so without being preachy, without being melodramatic, with humor and love and inspiration.
all right, I'm gushing, aren't I? That's what a film like this can do, even to a cranky old misanthrope!