Filmmaker Katharina Otto-Bernstein offers a detailed look into the world of avant-garde theater icon Robert Wilson, whose visionary works and collaborations with such varied artists as Philip Glass, Allen Ginsberg, and Tom Waits have established him as one of the world's most respected theater artists. From his early childhood in Waco, TX, to his influential work with the Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds to his internationally acclaimed "Einstein on the Beach" collaboration with Glass, his ill-fated
CIVIL WarS performance, and the Black Rider collaboration with Waits that would later vindicate the failure of CIVIL WarS, Otto-Bernstein takes a linear look at Wilson's life and career while also offering informative interviews with the artist's many collaborators and, of course, extensive conversations with the man himself. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
As a piece of entertainment, there's no getting around the fact that the film rises or falls on the degree to which the clips from Wilson's productions grab the viewer's attention and the ideas they embody arrest the mind.
Impressive as is Wilson's output and oeuvre, it's the fully-engaged, aesthetically driven life that fascinates. And Otto-Bernstein's movie is a portrait of an artist at his most essential, in every sense.
One comes away from this documentary fully satisfied and yet wanting even more, a testament to the skill of the filmmakers and the utter fascination of their subject.
A stirring portrait of a theatrical sensation, one that should motivate artists of all stripes to break away, follow their bliss, and, most importantly, never take no for an answer.
Wilson is the prime example of what happens when money is continually thrown at a voracious ego -- its creative universe keeps expanding until the money stops. One problem is that most of Wilson's works don't 'snapshot' very well as excerpts.
Though more celebratory than truly critical, and dealing more with the artist than the private eperson, being the first docu of one of the century's most innovative creators has both historical and aesthetic merits.
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