Magical Universe

This making of this film was clearly a labor of love. It is a great movie, and not a mere "project" as one IMDB user reviewer falsely describes it. The filmmaker, Jeremy Workman, had to walk a tightrope between pity and piety, and only his honest and fearless love for his subject, a mysterious, bizarre and eccentric old gentleman, Al Carbee, kept him aloft. The result is a MUST SEE for audiences of all kinds. This film is not political; it doesn't have an agenda; it doesn't have a cause or an ax to grind; it is neither mean-spirited nor sarcastic; it's just plain weird fun, that pulls you in, engages you, but then, most surprisingly, leads you to ponder the most profound questions that one can ask. Fact is stranger than fiction, and the story of Al Carbee illustrates this strange fact perfectly. Mr. Workman's brilliance is evident in his artful slow peeling back of the layers of the endless onion that is the bizarre enigma of Al Carbee. You have to see this movie for yourself to understand why it keeps affecting people so deeply, and has garnered such a following, a growing following. The real mystery is this: was Al Carbee a silly old fool, or a sly mystical sage? What did Al Carbee actually know? Where did he actually go? And most important, what is and where is Epicuma?

I love this film. It speaks to anyone who loves art, who has created art, or is just plain weird themselves. Al Carbee is one of the most unique characters i've seen in cinema in a long time. He proves the old maxim "You Just can't make it up." The movie is uplifting in its message (who cares what others say follow your passion) but also tragic in the way that "The Man' will aways crush, or bury, passion in one way or another. I never thought i'd be so interested in a movie about Barbie dolls. After all that's what we are talking about here. An octogenarian and his passion for photography Barbie on moonscapes, in the ocean and anywhere between.

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Truthfully, the documentary is odd but highly intriguing. We get to peek inside the wondrous world of an artist enamoured with creating something new everyday with the love and passion of human expression. If you are interested in watching something odd, quirky but at the same time captures your interest... this is a film worth watching. The artist in this film has rooms filled with his masterpieces that are on display for his own enjoyment. With the help of a younger couple this 80 something year old man was share his art with a broad audience. Through this film we are able to see a man close to the end of his life realize a dream of his art entering the real world for many to enjoy. This film is a reminder that doing what makes us happy keeps our imagination on it's toes and can lead to a true appreciation for the gift of life.

Truly different but interesting

Wistfully sad (and sadly insufficient) documentary from amateur filmmaker Jeremy Workman regarding the eccentric art and reclusive life of Maine resident, veteran and widower Al Carbee. Workman's 'movie' is really just a project, one with little visual flair, no filmmaking vitality and, surprisingly, not even a sentimental overture at the finale. Expanding a four-minute short he had previously done on Carbee in 2001--photographing Carbee's photos, collages and Barbie doll dioramas--Workman doesn't even ask his subject any probing questions (with the exception of "Are you lonely?", which seems redundant). Carbee's rambling old farmhouse (in foreclosure) is revealed to harbor decades of pictures and diaries and personal artwork, mostly semi-provocative collages he's taken of his treasured Barbies. Carbee's late wife was embarrassed by her husband "playing with dolls," yet he always told her he was working with them as an artist works with his models (and we're to assume this did little to nullify her objections). The best section of the film, when the curious come with trepidation to see Carbee's showing at a local museum--and leave with smiles on their faces--is wonderful, but there's no follow up to Carbee's triumph on Workman's part; everything is allowed to be frittered away. So, where's the magic? ** from ****

The compulsion to create was innate in Al Carbee and so his art, if odd, also feels necessary and natural. Even though each piece was painstakingly contrived and crafted by him, his body of work feels inevitable.

This film feels similarly motivated and is therefore one of the more moving documentaries I have seen.