Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time

A must see for any fan of Kurt Vonnegut. Unstick in Time is a labor of love that is over 30 years in the making. Countless hours of never before seen footage made up of not only past interviews and speeches of Vonnegut, but priceless family home films from the 1920's and 1930's make up the glue of what this documentary has to offer its audience. Among this footage includes testimonials from those who knew and loved him in the past, the present and the time to come. This story's message, moral, motivation and meaning are all important to the overall question the filmmaker answers as we are obligated to keep watching all the way to the final credits. A perfect poem to one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

I enjoyed this documentary which was 40 years in the making. I have read pretty much all of Vonnegut's works and obviously this focuses a lot on Slaughterhouse Five but shows everything from his early short stories and earliest novels such as Player Piano onwards. The other review complains about the producer (Weide - the other "half a lifetime" I mention) who is admittedly a bit self-indulgent.

But since his bits are a side-story of how a biographer "cronkler" became a friend of Kurt - it fits in. I look at it as Weide is James Boswell and Kurt is Samuel Johnson (albeit funnier). You get the occasional "Life of Boswell" mixed in. I enjoyed seeing Kurt's family past and present as it helps put things into perspective as his life and career progressed (or sometimes stalled). Also the location shots in Indianapolis and Barnstable, Cape Cod with Kurt or his kids were great. I personally got a kick out of seeing the stone building of his Saab dealership where he wrote "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater." I'd say it's a solid 9/10 for Kurt fans and I think entertaining enough of a show for those who may be unfamiliar with his writing.

Greetings again from the darkness. Sometimes the work really does speak for itself. Co-director and long-time Vonnegut friend Robert B Weide even admits the renowned author told him, "anything that is any good of mine is on a printed page". The strange thing here is that by the time it's over, we aren't sure if we've watched a documentary on the life of Kurt Vonnegut or one about Weide's friendship with and respect of the man.

Vonnegut, of course, is one of the great American writers of the 20th Century. Born and raised in Indianapolis, he wrote novels, short stories, and plays, and his work was noted for his clever humor and detail. His big breakthrough came in 1969 when "Slaughterhouse Five" became a best-seller, and his other works include "Cat's Cradle" (1963) and "Breakfast of Champions" (1973). As we see during the film, his live talks became 'must-attend' events due to his brilliance and ability to speak directly (and with caustic wit) about a world that he didn't always maintain the greatest hope for.

Weide and co-director Don Argott address Vonnegut's shortcomings as a family man, by allowing his daughters to tell Daddy stories in their own words. What's clear is that Vonnegut being captured by Germans during WWII at the Battle of the Bulge, and subsequently held at Dresden was a driving force not just in his writing, but in his approach to life. He survived the Allied bombing by taking cover in ... you guessed it ... a freezer in a slaughterhouse.

Archival footage of Vonnegut and interviews with his daughters and biographers, give us a pretty complete looks at his life. Oddly, it's Mr. Weide who seems to spend as much time on camera as anyone, leading us to wonder about his focus in what he terms a '40 year' project. Possibly the most interesting segment involves the various drafts of Vonnegut's most popular work ("Slaughterhouse Five" was his 6th novel), and the specific comparisons of the author to lead character Billy Pilgrim. Vonnegut passed away in 2007, and we have little doubt his response to that would be ... "So it goes."

An incredible labor of love that should delight and move any Vonnegut fan, and not a bad introduction for those who aren't familiar with him yet. It's a very human portrait of the man, warts and all, not a deep literary analysis of his books, but you will gain some great insights into how some of those came together, especially Slaughterhouse Five. The friendship of filmmaker Bob Weide with Kurt that is the centerpiece of the movie is crucial, a meta element fitting for a film about the guy who did meta (in Breakfast Of Champions particularly) before meta was cool! If any of this tweaks your interest, don't miss it.

There are two schools of thought on this documentary - that took decades to complete by Weide. My school is that Weide inserted himself far too comfortably in it. What pushed me waaaaaaaaaaaaay over the edge was during the credits when there were two sets of photographs, one in black and white (Vonnegut family) on top and one in color (Weide family). That was so to invasive to me.

Also, (this is an edit, btw) Weide inserting his family problems into the documentary to the degree he did was not at all professional, in my opinion. I am very sorry about his wife's illness, but I chose to watch a documentary about a beloved writer, not about Robert B. Wieder's family. Maybe he needs to do another documentary that's strictly about them. Given what he has achieved in his professional life, I would actually like to watch that.

But this was supposed to be about Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

This is a smart documentary about Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. And a lot of his story that any fan can enjoy. I am glad it finally got made, and wish Vonnegut could have seen it - he would have been pleased, I'd like to think. I learned a lot about the author I've admired all my life. And wish I'd learned a bit more about his later life sans Weide inserting himself as flagrantly as he did. I looked it up and there was a lot of Vonnegut's life missing. How sad we were deprived of that later portion of his life.

To clarify - I think Weide's presence and voice is important in this documentary, but could and should have been cut back by at least 90%. It is NOT the Vonnegut and Weide Unstuck in Time documentary. Or is it?

I do know I know far too much about the Weide family than I ever should at this point in time and from the program I chose to watch.

So it goes.