Kurt Vonnengut. A través del tiempo

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.

I gave the documentary 5 stars for the footage of Kurt. It should really be 2.5 stars, considering that Weidie features "Weidie's feelings on KVj," and "Weidie proves he really was friends with Kurt" more than he lets us see the author himself. I swear to god, there were several times when Weidie actually talked OVER film of Vonnegut rather than letting us hear what the supposed subject of the film was saying.

It's not that Weidie couldn't have played a role, put himself in here and there. But he is everywhere. He spends so much time showing himself with Kurt it begins to look like that is his only point - that he was there. I almost stopped after 10/15 minutes because I had heard so little about Kurt and so much about Weidie's subject. He draws parallels to Vonnegut's own years-long struggle to write about WWII. I kid you not.

For lovers of Vonnegut, this film is a struggle. For people who want to hear Weidie on Vonnegut, you've found your movie!

The movie opens as if Vonnegut had written it: time-tripping, past, present, "future" tenses. It unfolds with awareness and self-consciousness of the process of making the documentary, and with living a deliberate existence. We watch as Vonnegut steers his direction, with the enthusiastic support of his wife Jane, from a life in the corporate world to evolving as a philosophical novelist. The fact that Vonnegut welcomed Director Robert B. Weide into his personal life strums on the heart strings of any human being who has been a follower, a fan, or a groupie of a beloved artist. Every moment of this film is emotional, poignant, and profoundly underscored by filmed statements, answering machine messages, and written text declarations made by Vonnegut himself.

This documentary stands on its own as a well-considered and crafted oeuvre. The art of the film is created and observed in a linear-time fashion. The body of "Unstuck in Time" is focused on Vonnegut's writings, work, life, challenges, lectures, and lends visual exposures to his graphic illustrations. It is highlighted with interviews with family and friends, and footage from reels of 16 mm family films. Weide includes his own reflections on the documentary's process, his own personal life (and "distractions") during the long duration of making the movie, and on his close relationship with Vonnegut.

I wasn't left feeling as if I had any more questions about Vonnegut's biography; I feel that Weide has covered all the factual information very neatly in a 2 hour 7 minute package. As the credits rolled, I was wiping away tears from missing Kurt more than ever, full of thanks for his influence on me.

Robert Weide, the maker of this fine documentary, apologizes right off the bat for being on screen and 'present' from time to time while it goes on. I see other reviewers found this a bit annoying, but I can also see that it was hard to avoid. Weide's connection with Vonnegut spanned decades, they became close friends, and the friendship itself is part of the story. I don't think we lose anything as a result: Vonnegut and his work are still front and center, and we get a satisfyingly thorough look into his life from beginning to end.

Vonnegut was an American original. His main works (Slaughterhouse Five and the string of novels before and after it) hit the zeitgeist of the 1960's right on the mark and made him immediately and permanently famous. His trademark angular face, mustache, and mop of curly hair were instantly recognizable and never changed. After his orginal string of hits, his writing as a novelist sort of trailed off into the weeds, but he turned into an affable TV talk-show guest and public speaker. Although he may have outlived his natural home period in history, he never really went away. And his consistent counterculture, antiwar point of view is timeless.

Weide clearly loved the guy. We get to see plenty of archival footage that fills in all the gaps over his whole life. The many interviews and thoughts from his three kids (Edie, Nanny, and Mark) and four nephews, who are all very open and engaging, are among the highlights of the film. Vonnegut was a complex character with a fascinating history. Very much worth seeing.

While many are bothered by the interaction of the filmmaker in this film and initially, I too was unsure about it, I finally decided that the many years Weide spent making this film and spending time with Vonnegut made him a central character in his life and therefore he holds a space in this documentary just as Vonnegut's children do. It was a beautiful film and I really enjoyed it!