Ross Lipman's documentary offers itself as a 'kino-essay' on FILM, the fabulous collaboration between Samuel Beckett as writer and Buster Keaton as performer. Lipman noted the absurdity of producing a two-hour movie about a 20-minute movie, the ridiculous idea of a piece of art about art and not life. Yet, despite the storied nature of the collaborators and the people interviewed and caught on film for this film, the ultimate point of this work seems to be a contemplation of Beckett's work and what he was trying to accomplish. In Lipman's view -- or at least my interpretation of what his interpretation is -- is that Beckett's works are contemplations of the futility of life and and the nothingness that circles its little 0.
As such, it's a cogent and penetrating analysis of the creative process that Beckett went through, a partial listing of his chosen symbols offers a fulsome work about a major artist. Whether you enjoy his work -- in any sense of the word -- or, like me at a Magritte exhibit exhibit with a friend, think it's boring to see the contents of your own mind on the walls of the Museum of Modern Art or its screening rooms -- is up to you.
As such, it's a cogent and penetrating analysis of the creative process that Beckett went through, a partial listing of his chosen symbols offers a fulsome work about a major artist. Whether you enjoy his work -- in any sense of the word -- or, like me at a Magritte exhibit exhibit with a friend, think it's boring to see the contents of your own mind on the walls of the Museum of Modern Art or its screening rooms -- is up to you.