If you've seen any of Les Blank's documentaries, then you should know that he tends to focus on unusual and quirky topics. I had already seen "Garlic Is As Good As Ten Mothers", "Always for Pleasure" and "Innocents Abroad", and now I've seen "My Old Fiddle: A Visit with Tommy Jarrell in the Blue Ridge". The intro noted that Blank filmed it while shooting another documentary. I didn't realize that it's a sequel to that documentary (which I haven't seen).
Anyway, it's a fun, perceptive look at an aging fiddler in rural North Carolina. This man loves what he does, and goes all out with it. Watching this sort of documentary, one realizes just how much the southerners like to sing and play music, and we come to understand that there probably aren't that many people who can play like this man anymore.
Basically, it just goes to show how many topics there are to focus on. Although Les Blank is no longer with us, we should still thank him for making these documentaries and exposing the world to these things.
