Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (2004)
Average Rating: 7.6/10
Reviews Counted: 32
Fresh: 30 | Rotten: 2
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 7.4/10
Critic Reviews: 13
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 1
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 8,198
My Rating
Movie Info
The celebrated singer and songwriter Steve Earle once said "Townes Van Zandt is the best songwriter in the whole world, and I'll stand on Bob Dylan's coffee table in my cowboy boots and say that." Earle was hardly the only artist of note who loved Van Zandt's poetic, elliptical songs of love and dashed hopes -- Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, the Cowboy Junkies, and Nanci Griffith are among the many performers who have recorded his work, and he was a key inspiration for much of the
Watch It Now
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (34) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (30) | Rotten (2) | DVD (3)
This may not be a solid biography, but it feels true.
Top Critic[An] honest, sobering and poignant tribute to a tortured talent who died young and left behind a treasure chest of songs.
A documentary that in its spirit and feel catches some of the vulnerability and naive optimism of its subject, Van Zandt.
A less-than-satisfying examination of the country singer's art, career and demons.
Rather than connecting all the chronological dots, Brown has fashioned Van Zandt's balm-to-the- brokenhearted legacy into potent cinematic poetry.
An unnarrated collection of gently told reminiscences that rove impressionistically, the film touches on various points in a career that remained a well-kept secret from the start, when Van Zandt began performing in the late 1960s.
A surprisingly deep understanding of an otherwise obscure artist.
While the film lacks polish, there's enough good material and good performances to keep everything on track.
Loving but unflinching documentary on celebrated singer and songwriter Townes Van Zandt.
Van Zandt gets his own documentary
He may not have been a good guy, but fellow musicians tend to focus on his work and they can't say enough good things about his talent. They sing his praises and sing his songs.
Van Zandt comes across as humble, witty, empathetic, sympathetic and very, very gifted.
Manages a pretty fair portrait of Van Zandt and his personal demons, pressures and joys.
Brown weaves together audio footage and taped interviews that show a man whose proximity to death had calcified into a sharp blade of self-deprecating wit.
...required viewing for Van Zandt fans, probably required for country music fans, and even of interest to those with no great affection for either.
Unlike many music documentaries, this is not a drab, talking-heads affair but a portrait assembled from evocative images and songs.
A sobering but compassionate look at a man who ultimately might have been even more troubled than gifted.
Vivid yet impressionistic, Margaret Brown's film tribute to the singer-songwriter Townes Van Zandt brings the late musician and his career into rare focus.
Audience Reviews for Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt yet.
What's Hot On RT
Trailer for James Franco adaptation
Star Trek is Certified Fresh
Rachel McAdams' time travel romantic drama
Trailer for Tom Hanks thriller
Featured on RT
- Weekly Ketchup: Will Smith to Star in Wild Bunch Remake? 33
- Critics Consensus: Star Trek Into Darkness is Certified Fresh 89
- Red Carpet Roundup: Star Trek Into Darkness Edition 0
- Video Interviews with Katie Aselton & Lake Bell of Black Rock 2
- VIP Access: Eli Roth talks Aftershock 1
- Total Recall: Star Trek Movies 93
- Parental Guidance: Star Trek Into Darkness 18
Top Headlines
-
J.J. Abrams Talks Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Wars, and More
0
-
Vin Diesel Says Fast & Furious 7 Will Begin a New Trilogy
7
-
Mickey Rourke Confirmed for Expendables 3
3
-
Brad Bird Still Mulling Incredibles 2
0
-
Reese Witherspoon, Jena Malone, and Martin Short Join Inherent Vice
0
-
Bruce Willis Makes an Expiration Date
2
-
Drew Pearce Hired for Mission: Impossible 5
0
Fresh Links
Featured
Star Trek Movies Ranked
HitFix offers their own take on the worst-to-best of the Enterprise crew's cinematic adventures.
Top 10 Star Trek Villains
Rolling Stone unveils the Enterprise's most irksome adversaries.
Celebrity Yearkbook Flashback
We'll bet you never realized how many stars were cheerleaders and high school athletes!
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Weirdest Movie Siblings
From Twins to The Royal Tenenbaums, Moviefone explores cinema's oddest siblings.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Foreign Titles
- Townes Van Zandt - Be Here to Love Me (DE)
- Be Here to Love Me (AU)
