Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time

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!

Greetings again from the darkness. Sometimes the work really does speak for itself. Co-director and long-time Vonnegut friend Robert B Weide even admits the renowned author told him, "anything that is any good of mine is on a printed page". The strange thing here is that by the time it's over, we aren't sure if we've watched a documentary on the life of Kurt Vonnegut or one about Weide's friendship with and respect of the man.

Vonnegut, of course, is one of the great American writers of the 20th Century. Born and raised in Indianapolis, he wrote novels, short stories, and plays, and his work was noted for his clever humor and detail. His big breakthrough came in 1969 when "Slaughterhouse Five" became a best-seller, and his other works include "Cat's Cradle" (1963) and "Breakfast of Champions" (1973). As we see during the film, his live talks became 'must-attend' events due to his brilliance and ability to speak directly (and with caustic wit) about a world that he didn't always maintain the greatest hope for.

Weide and co-director Don Argott address Vonnegut's shortcomings as a family man, by allowing his daughters to tell Daddy stories in their own words. What's clear is that Vonnegut being captured by Germans during WWII at the Battle of the Bulge, and subsequently held at Dresden was a driving force not just in his writing, but in his approach to life. He survived the Allied bombing by taking cover in ... you guessed it ... a freezer in a slaughterhouse.

Archival footage of Vonnegut and interviews with his daughters and biographers, give us a pretty complete looks at his life. Oddly, it's Mr. Weide who seems to spend as much time on camera as anyone, leading us to wonder about his focus in what he terms a '40 year' project. Possibly the most interesting segment involves the various drafts of Vonnegut's most popular work ("Slaughterhouse Five" was his 6th novel), and the specific comparisons of the author to lead character Billy Pilgrim. Vonnegut passed away in 2007, and we have little doubt his response to that would be ... "So it goes."

An incredible labor of love that should delight and move any Vonnegut fan, and not a bad introduction for those who aren't familiar with him yet. It's a very human portrait of the man, warts and all, not a deep literary analysis of his books, but you will gain some great insights into how some of those came together, especially Slaughterhouse Five. The friendship of filmmaker Bob Weide with Kurt that is the centerpiece of the movie is crucial, a meta element fitting for a film about the guy who did meta (in Breakfast Of Champions particularly) before meta was cool! If any of this tweaks your interest, don't miss it.

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.

A must see for any fan of Kurt Vonnegut. Unstick in Time is a labor of love that is over 30 years in the making. Countless hours of never before seen footage made up of not only past interviews and speeches of Vonnegut, but priceless family home films from the 1920's and 1930's make up the glue of what this documentary has to offer its audience. Among this footage includes testimonials from those who knew and loved him in the past, the present and the time to come. This story's message, moral, motivation and meaning are all important to the overall question the filmmaker answers as we are obligated to keep watching all the way to the final credits. A perfect poem to one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.