Following Sean

I know we tend to rate most highly those movies we've seen most recently, but I cannot recommend _Following Sean_ too highly. Engaging, funny, brilliant, simultaneously comforting and uncomfortable, and observant, the movie asks us to confront our own lives' narratives; received wisdom about the 1960s and more recent American history; the meaning of adulthood, and a thousand other things. It made me think in a way films rarely can -- the way books more often can -- but couldn't possibly give me a headache. And as for technical elements, the editing and narration are perfect, and the granular texture of the film itself complements that of the families' stories. I actually loved _Following Sean_, and came to IMDb to look for information about whether it will ever be released as a DVD. (The message board says it'll be released as a DVD in Oct. 2006.) I rarely buy movies, but I'll buy this one.

Back in 1969, Ralph Arlyck made a small film about a neighbor boy named Sean. At the time, the film gained some notoriety and audiences were curious what would one day happen to this boy since he grew up in a Haight-Ashbury home with practically no structure or guidance. At four, he was walking the streets, taking pot and being his own boss.

FOLLOWING SEAN is ostensibly a follow-up film in which Arlyck re-establishes contact with Sean and follows him in his adult years. However, Arlyck never really maintains this clear focus--often diverging into interviews and visits with Sean's extended family as well as Arlyck's. Because of this, the film seems, at times, less of a documentary or attempt to show cause and effect and more a long string of home movies strung together. This isn't all bad, as you do really get to know and care about the characters. However, if your goal is to really make a definitive statement on how these 60s "do as you please" morals affected them in later years, this isn't quite so clear--though there is a pattern, to a degree, of failed relationships--though this, unfortunately, would also mirror recent trends on marriage overall. So you are left wondering just how good or bad this odd childhood was long term--and the film kept me wondering. I did enjoy it--I'm just not sure what it all meant in regard to Sean, but it did have a lot to say about the tenuousness of relationships in general.

Stumbled across this gem on PBS the other night. I was initially spellbound by the storytelling ability of the narrator (Ralph Arlyck), but drawn in even further by the tapestry of lives involved. When we think of the 60's and early 70's, we think of Woodstock, hippies, free love, San Francisco, etc. What we don't often dwell on are the lives implicated in the thick of the hippie lifestyle. What lead to those lives? Who were the parents? Grandparents? What impact did this lifestyle have on the children? Grandchildren? Not a judgmental piece of film-making, but it does raise a lot of questions. And no, it doesn't offer a lot of answers. But does life? An amazing piece of film-making.

This movie should be called following Ralph. The director/narrator does include quite a bit of Sean, but it really becomes a means to discuss himself. I don't think this is a narcissistic move as much as an attempt to make a full length documentary out of some very intriguing and very short footage of a young Sean. The documentary is based around the director's old footage which is somewhat interesting, but it stretches thin when the director tries to pull it out into a full length.

The premise is also intriguing. After seeing the footage of a young Sean I was very interested to find out who he had become as a man. And who he has become defeats expectations, not in such an uplifting way as surprising.

I love a good documentary, especially one that is a character study. But in the modern vein of Michael Moore documentaries, the filmmaker too often becomes the film, or at least the voice that tells you what to think or how to feel about the subject matter. And this documentary makes those mistakes to the point that the subject isn't exactly followed as much as it meanders. If you haven't seen all of the Maysles brothers documentaries, watch those, see how a real documentary is made... and then maybe, consider seeing this.

That old line about "If you remember the 60's you weren't there" doesn't apply to people with cameras.

This is much more than a documentary about a boy born to hippies in the Haight in the 1960's. It's about the four generations that telescope around him, before and after. It's about family.

It's also about the choices that people make, the prices they pay, and the successes that have or don't have. It's also a slice of American life of which we could use a whole lot more. The scene of Ralph's parents' friends (all of them well into old age) sitting around, reminiscing and giggling about being Communists in upstate New York is totally priceless.

And the enduring hope of young people who gleefully plunge into marriage and families is what makes the world go around.

Most of the newspaper reviews for this film were ho-hum, and one was downright negative. Don't believe them, this film's a keeper.