Chop Suey

This is a wonderful, moving assemblage of fragmentary experiences which, held together only by the voices of Bruce

Weber and his friends, gently carries you into the heart of the

deepest aesthetic wonder. More than any other film I have seen,

this one embodies, 'here is the glory of art, the sheer white heat of

its passion in making and feeling'.

Perhaps you need to be a Bruce Weber afficionado to be this

turned on; perhaps you have to share his wonderful obsessions -

but I don't think so, because the whole point of the film is that

*everyone* has the capacity to feel this strongly, to be this in touch

with the way they feel. We may not all be able to take a great

photograph to record the experience, but we can treasure the

intensity of feeling it.

As he always has done, while he tantalises me with beautiful

images, he also introduces me to something - this time the

singing of Francis Faye - that I hadn't experienced before. And as

with Chet Baker (in Let's Get Lost), I'm looking forward to having

my musical life enriched by the introduction when I go and find

some of her recordings.

What worried me? That passage near the beginning on Tower

Bridge with La Traviata's 'life is passing; you can live it to the full if I

am strong and leave you to live without me'. This film is a

wonderful gift from BW, and I hope this (and the other little clues

he drops on the way) aren't hinting that he thinks he's moving on,

because Bruce Weber has brought a light into my life that I'm not

ready to lose just yet.

Oh, and if you've seen the book and Peter Johnson, you'll wish

there was more of him; for he seems a really nice (sorry, this is a

UK way of putting it) bloke, someone you'd like to meet and make

friends with, not just the most beautiful man you've ever seen. I

wish there was more in the film of Peter too, but more than that, I

want more of BW's obsessions, more of his capacity to see and to

show.

This is a seriously beautiful film. Go see, and then go look at your

own world. Bruce Weber will have helped you to see more of it.

This is a lush and sometimes loud film by the photographer who brings you the A&F catalogue every 3 months, Bruce Weber. His previous subjects were the jazz "great" (my own anti-jazz bias) Chet Baker and the obscure if not downright lost film "Backyard Movies" that I've lusted after since seeing it one bleary night in Minneapolis, when, 1992?

Mr. Weber's unerring eye for beauty and culture are pleasantly shared, as is his fantastic photo collection, his historic archival footage with the likes of Diana Vreeland, editor of Vogue magazine, the slacker surfing champions that are "Nixon's Neighbors," an obscure English adventurer, and his own personal and professional anecdotes.

And, oh yeah, he shares Peter Johnson with us. (A man/boy with two names for "penis," though that cheap joke shortchanges his phenomenal looks and carriage.) Mr. Johnson is alternately the direct subject and the audience for the stories in Chop Suey.

The book "Chop Suey Club," already a collector's item, is so obviously a labor of love, and the movie lets us in on some of Peter Johnson's allure and charm. Still, Johnson is not exactly a presence to be reckoned with, though his modeling is clearly in the heart-stopping/stellar range. It's slightly embarrassing to watch the young Wisconsin father sit through old stories told by aging queens, until he whips out the atrocious aplomb apparent in his still photos by dancing with a big black poodle.

Mr. Weber practically comes right out with his infatuation for Peter Johnson, telling the story of a parallel gay editor/straight model relationship, "...nobody loved you better." Then in the narrative, "...sometimes we photograph what we're afraid we missed." "Chop Suey" wants to keep history alive while extolling keeping history alive; as told through a survivor in a 31 year lesbian partnership, "I thought I lost my best friend, but I have all these photos and memories and she's still with me. That's the way it's supposed to be."

I longed for quiet in some of the more lyrically poetic image sequences. I thought the underwater shots of swimming dogs and boys in gowns, or the boys sleepy in the back seat of a car, black and white film stock creamy, movement slowed to a languid, trippy pace, invited a more sparce aural accompaniment, images lingering slightly longer.

I would give this film a full ten out of ten if it didn't feel so much like a vanity project. A generous vanity project to be sure, but still, I tend to feel somehow duped or guilty if I overly enjoy watching such blatant narcissism.

I saw it 3 times.

There are interesting pieces here of and about Bruce Weber's likes and dislikes. Maybe if a professional editor had put it together for Biography, I would have felt more satisfied. Instead, I spent $8 at a film festival on it. For an autobiography, almost nothing is revealed about Bruce Weber, other than he likes to look at photographs, shoot interesting people, especially beautiful teenage boys, and listen to jazz. The director of "Crumb" would have made a much more interesting and cohesive film.

This movie came out briefly in one theater in Los Angeles and then disappeared. Why I don't know, because it was a fascinating look back into the gay life in the 50's and 60's when everything was kind of hidden and hush-hush. The other fantastic thing about it was its focus on the great singer Frances Faye. Mention her name now and most people would have a blank look on their faces - which is too bad because this great talent deserves more recognition. I just can't understand WHY this movie hasn't been released on DVD. Something is wrong because every other film -good and bad- eventually is put on DVD. This film is GOOD..........so come on guys - get it out there!!!!!!

This film is a documentary directed by Bruce Weber, who is an internationally famous photographer. Weber's specialty is in photographing male nudes and Chop Suey is full of male nudity (all done tastefully). In particular, the film highlights (or celebrates) the physical beauty of one Peter Johnson, an actor/model with a great and lean physical build. Weber's camera is in love with Johnson. The film also highlights Weber's other passions, including the music of singer Frances Faye, as well as the "coolness" of actor Robert Mitchum. Chop Suey is basically a cinematic scrapbook of one man's passions and interests. There is hardly anything that can be called a "story" to link the various episodes that occur in this film together. But the film is distinguished by its excellent use of black and white (as well as color) photography--so it at least looks good (as one might expect, being photographed as it is by a professional photographer). However, ultimately one gets the sense that Chop Suey will appeal mainly (or perhaps only) to those (i) who also share Weber's passion of looking at great looking guys (often nude), and/or (ii) who find the idea of watching a film that often feels like a feature-length version of Calvin Klein's Eternity commercial even remotely appealing. If you don't fit into either of the above categories, heed my warning and skip this baby.