Jason says:
“I can’t claim to have much of a grasp on Join Imber’s place in the
world of art even after seeing this movie; there’s a lot of background
and the film has other things to attack in its fifty-seven minutes. I
can say this, though: If I am ever handed a death sentence that is
especially cruel in its irony, I hope that I can respond to it with a
fraction of a percent of the quiet spirit Imber did, whether I’ve got a
camera crew documenting it or not.
“Jon Imber, you see, was an American painter who started on
portraiture, moved to landscapes, and then eventually abstract
landscapes, and still has a lot of painting in him when he was
diagnosed with an aggressive form of ALS. To make matters worse, the
first thing that the neuromuscular condition attacked was his dominant
right hand. His reaction? To start painting with his left hand and
cram as much work as he can into the time he has remaining.
“That’s a noble goal, but it’s the way he reacts to it that makes the
film a joy to watch: He’s fascinated by the way that forty years of
learning the craft of painting interacts with an arm that is physically
starting from scratch. He’s an admirably upbeat person in general,
speaking about how the disease will eventually kill him and how he
hopes to make it through the summer before severe deterioration starts
with the expected paralyzing emotions held in check and describing
several painters as the greatest ever when discussing his influences
and art in general. He manages to be as jovial as he can while still
being serious about his condition and his art, making this an easy film
to watch even though the very first scene shows us something near the
end.
“Director Richard Kane will eventually wind up back there, although he
will follow two paths to get there. The first and most chronological
follows him through 2013, having his last shows and painting his last
pictures, though Kane often switched gears to talk about Imber’s
earlier life, education, and body of work. It’s vaguely in order, but
Kane gives himself the leeway to take whatever subject seems the most
relevant at the time. Aside from being interesting elaborations, they
let Kane break the movie up so that he can jump forward a month or two
and let each progressive time we see Imber in worse condition feel like
a little bit of a blow. It’s neither a steady decline that we don’t
notice until something reminds us or a jarring cut, but a sensation
akin to seeing this happen to a friend one sees regularly but not
routinely. That feels right, as it is evident from the ways that
others speak to and about him that Imber connected with people in ways
beyond his art, something beautifully reflected in one of his last
major projects.
“One of the ways he affected people was as a teacher, something we see
demonstrated more in the way he tells people things than any actual
footage of him teaching figure drawing at Harvard. There’s only so
much you can fit into an hour – the film was produced as part of a
series on Maine artists which may have dictated its length – and Kane
actually does very well to make the presentation feel satisfying at
that length. There are plans for a more traditionally feature-length
version (during the Q&A, Kane cited Toronto as a festival that
requires features to be at least eighty minutes long), and I don’t know
how that will work; much more watching Imber paint could get repetitive
and adding more segments in between others could mess with the jarring
shifts that work so well.
If that’s what it takes to get the movie into theaters, though, it’s
probably worth it. Imber’s art and the story of his last year merit
some eyeballs, and what Kane has put together here is plenty good
enough to have a little more added to it. 4.5 cats
“Seen 26 April 2014 in Somerville Theatre #1 (Independent Film Festival
Boston, digital).” |
