eli-118

This movie has everything you could ever want: thrills, chills, and luscious production design. It's sexy and funny and thoughtful. Great performances.

Most of all, it is completely unique -- you will never see another film quite like it. Required viewing.

It's nice to see some of Jack's work collected on screen, but a little bit of research reveals quickly just how inaccurately this film represents the life of the man behind the work. Jack Smith was estranged from his sister from 1953 on, because she couldn't deal with his sexuality. For some reason, Mary Jordan has made this film in close collaboration with that sister. Any person whose family has trouble accepting their sexuality will understand that bizarre distortions of the facts are par for the course, and this documentary engages in that kind of wholesale fiction-making as much as you would expect. It's a shame because Jack Smith deserves attention as a great filmmaker, and deserves attention from those who are ready to accept him as he was: flawed, strange, brilliant, and untamed.