L'attrape-Salinger

It's nice to learn that an American novel published in 1951 has such a strong fan in France as the writer and actor Frederic Beigbeder.And that when Beigbeder flies to the US, as we see him do here, the low income and non white students of a Harlem school he visits say they respond to an old book about a white boy of privilege who attends a prep school.Beigbeder's pilgrimage tour of New York City sites associated with Salinger is also of interest. But what the fellow writers he interviews there have to say about Salinger and Catcher is not especially deep, and the director unnecessarily gussies up the images of people and locales with fancy split screen effects. Ultimately we know that Beigbeder's quest to meet the reclusive author will end in disappointment. And we wonder why he bothered to go to all this trouble.

If this was made just to put another documentary under the belt of Jean- Marie Perier, then I probably would have given it a 2 or 3 rating. I'd like to believe that this is the story of true obsession. French writer Frederic Beigbeder like many writers, considers J.D. Salinger's Catcher in The Rye his biggest influence. The fact that Salinger is a recluse living in the backwoods of New Hampshire bothers Beigbeder to no end. He makes plans to attempt a meeting with Salinger, to express his love of Catcher in The Rye. Starting in France and working his way to New York, the writer interviews others who have been influenced by Salinger's work. Some come right out and tell him that he's making a big mistake in not honoring Salinger's right to privacy.

I gave this a 7 because of the history lesson we get along Beigbeder's journey. I learned quite a bit about Salinger from this film, from his life in New York to his quiet retreat to New Hampshire where he is protected by his neighbors who have adopted him.