A Well-Spent Life

"God made us here in this world to live peaceful and quiet and get along together."

In addition to hearing the very pleasant acoustic folk/blues strummings of Mance Lipscomb in this touching little tribute to him, it's also a treat to hear him muse about life and dole out some gentle wisdom. He was 75 when this was filmed and had lived a humble life, one that might make a man bitter - his father had been a slave (think about that for a second) and had left the family when Mance was 11, he lived in poverty as a sharecropper, and was oppressed by the white "boss man" with no ability to do anything other than take it. In between hearing him play songs like "Night Time is the Right Time" he talks about things like the need for friendship and love as the basis of marriage and a lifelong commitment (even if his wife hilariously refuses to eat at the dinner table with him because he stood her up 50 years ago). He also talks about living a simple life, accepting others, and living in harmony. We see a slice of life in rural Texas, and an enlightened old soul in addition to being treated to his music.

Mance Lipscomb grew up a poor black tenant farmer in Texas born in 1895. He's also a great guitarist and blues singer. In 1960, he got signed to a recording contract. It's a hard good life. This is existence. It's a real slice of a man's life. It's a legacy. It seems like an easy going time in poverty at first and then he talks about his one-legged neighbor. Mostly, it's his voice and his songs. The filmmaker injects some questions from time to time but it is mostly the man. It's a culture. It's a time and place. It's the man.

I felt quite lucky after seeing this film for the first time. It is filled with the `good stuff' that is present in all great art, and has made it's mark on my life. Les Blank, at his very best, has made a beautiful film with this documentary about Mance Lipscomb.

In a very quiet and intimate fashion, the film gets to the real heart of a good man and the great music he made throughout his life. Blank delicately films the goings on in Lipscomb's life and in the world around him. Obviously, the film is full of great music that any lovers of old folk music would enjoy. This is a very good film that is worth much more than the price/time it takes to watch it.

This short documentary is about Mance Lipscomb, a country Blues guitarist who was discovered when he was in his 60s. Despite some fame and money from the sale of his albums, he was a very simple man and enjoyed his lifestyle. The film consists of Lipscomb just talking and reminiscing about his life...with no narration or much in the way of structure. Now this makes for a somewhat dull film, I'll admit it. But I STILL am glad they made "A Well-Spent Life" because it's a historical document of the man, his times and a lost way of life. And, as a retired history teacher, this alone would recommend this picture.

I suppose most viewers, like me, come to this film to witness a great blues musician perform. There certainly is a lot of fine music. (Lipscomb is one of the great rhythm guitarists with that pick on his thumb!)

However, there is so much more: a close-up of an intelligent, thoughtful and generous man. Two things that stand out are the story of the man who became a good husband only after his wife shot him and left him lying in a field all night, and Lipscombe's pride in the children he helped raise (3 adoptees, his younger siblings after their dad left, and 17 grandchildren).

As priceless as the recordings of Lipscombe's music are, the film is also important for preserving a sense of his noble spirit.