Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005)

I know. HotDocs was back in June and this is the film festival—movie stars, red carpets, Oscar buzz. So why another documentary film? I really want to make my own doc and can’t see enough of them right now.

So this afternoon it was Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005). Frank Gehry and director Sydney Pollack introduced the film which was pretty cool. All of the architects in the audience (it felt like a convention) were gushing with praise and adoration for Gehry.

I learned a lot about Gehry’s creative process, his work and his personal life. Pollack and Gehry are good friends, pals. At times the film felt like a lifetime achievement video at an awards show. One buddy patting the other on the back and saying, “way to go!”

I’m not saying that I disliked the film but I was expecting a little more drama. A lot of things were touched upon and could have been explored further but they weren’t—anti-semitism, criticism of his work.

Much of the film was shot by Pollack, using a Canon GL-1 camera (which I have) so I was interested in seeing how the footage turned out on the big screen—not bad. This certainly gave it more of a documetnary feel.

A lot of famous people were interviewed but by far, the best interview was with artist and director, Julian Schnabel. He did his interview in a white bathrobe, with dark sunglasses, fruity drink while smoking a cigarette. Classic!

Posted in 2005 TIFF and Movie Reviews at 12:27 AM