I Am So Proud of You

I was lucky enough to have attended the magical school of UCSB about a week ago when Don Hertzfeldt, an alumni, premiered "I Am So Proud of You" to anyone willing to fork over five dollars. It was an experience I will never forget. All i had previously seen of his work were the shorts "Rejected" and "Billy's Balloon," so I thought I knew what to expect. "I am So Proud of You" is a phenomenal piece of storytelling, animation, and bittersweet humor. I won't say anything in regards to the storyline except that it begins by tracing Bill's family history, which is disturbingly hilarious. This film is very similar to "Everything Will be OK" in form, style, structure, and the overall theme of impending death. This is a fantastic film that should not be missed by anyone who has access to it and calls themselves a fan of anything that can be viewed in a movie theater.

The thing with this man's films that is so exceptional is that they are subcutaneous, reaching into our souls. They speak of wasted lives and pain and all the realities of being human. They are painfully existential and force the main character into realizing that time emasculates us. This film has it all and it hurts to watch. If we don't see some of ourself in this, we are not watching closely enough.

This is the continuation of Don Hertzfeldt's short "Everything is Okay"--a lengthy absurdist take of a stick figure named Bill. The first film had to do with Bill's brain tumor and the weird, disjoint musings of Hertzfeldt as he narrates Bill's life. Here in "I Am So Proud of You" you hear all about Bill's extended family. None of it makes any sense at all though there is a recurring theme about Christianity (such as a feral family member who eats mud and says 'Bible', a religious zealot who fathers an illegitimate child and kills it and a grandmother that likes persecuting Jews). It's all very random and insane just like the earlier short and because of this, the two films work great together when they are combined with yet another short about Bill to make an ultra strange feature-length film. Weird and not for most folks--but great for Hertzfeldt fans.

Those who have been affected by "Everything Will Be OK"'s deft balancing of the absurd, surreal, heartbreaking and quietly devastating will be blown away by "I am so proud of you," which is easily Hertzfeldt's best work. Plot-wise, we learn more about Bill's family history and strange relatives, and a co-worker's comments about genetics, time and predestination throw Bill's universe -- or at least the film's non-lineal portrayal of it -- into major flux. There is a strong sense of pathos running throughout, and at times the humor is so dark that it may or may not have been intended to be read as such--but that might be an irrelevant distinction. Watching Hertzfeldt develop into a true artist has been one of the greatest cinematic pleasures of the last decade, and "I am so proud of you" continues that trend. If you are fortunate enough to have the chance to see the sole copy of it that is currently circulating the country along with Hertzfeldt, don't pass it up. Hopefully we'll get part three of the trilogy soon...

If you liked the first instalment of the series, you will like this even more. To be fair, it is more of a transition between the first and third episodes but it still stands up in its own right. Bill's mental condition deteriorates and we see him try to get a grip on things.