This is a documentary that can fool you. It starts as a seemingly rambling, shapeless portrait of the great photographer. It has dull sections, particularly early on, as we spend a lot of time watching Eggleston rambling around looking for images. Almereyda's somewhat sophomoric attempts to 'explain' the meaning of Eggleston's work via narration seem shallow and silly. But then, as the film goes along, and we see more of Eggleston's images, what seemed boring earlier becomes more interesting in retrospect. When we see the finished images, the process we watched first gathers meaning. And the director's inclusion of Eggleston's withering dismissal of Almerydea's philosophizing makes us realize the filmmaker knows and accepts his own inability to define 'art'. Not quite a great film, but an interestingly complicated one that's not only about a photographer, but also the process of art, the nature of trying to document that process, and the impossibility of putting a visual medium into words.
5 Reviews
Technical Imperfection Contributes to a Portrait of a Worthy Subject
mvrg-113 November 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Lack of funding will not stop Michael Almereyda from creating a film. With only $3,000, he created the short film "The Rocking Horse Winner," shot entirely on PXLvision. While the plot and performances in that film were unremarkable, Almereyda achieved a mesmerizing elegance in his images by using such a low-quality, low-cost format.
Likewise, the raw, unfinished quality of the low-end video used in "William Eggleston in the Real World" creates an engaging visual landscape for the viewer. At times, it is even reminiscent of the ethereal portraits in Eggleston's own film, "Stranded in Canton." The quality of the video exists in contrast to the sharp, exquisitely composed photographs taken by Eggleston, which are peppered throughout the film. Indeed, the video seems to be an apt metaphor for Eggleston's approach to photography: an approach that is raw and innocent, unencumbered by the philosophy and metaphysics of image and meaning, an approach rooted in a simple, unadulterated love of creating art of all kinds.
Driven by a similar passion for film, Almereyda proves with this portrait of Eggleston that creating film is not something to be restrained by a lack of money, to be reserved for someone with a crew of scores and a budget of millions. Instead, film can be as simple and inexpensive as one man, with a video camera, talking to another man. Such simplicity allows an intimacy and spontaneity that is impossible to achieve in larger productions and that is especially important in exploring the life of someone like William Eggleston.
Likewise, the raw, unfinished quality of the low-end video used in "William Eggleston in the Real World" creates an engaging visual landscape for the viewer. At times, it is even reminiscent of the ethereal portraits in Eggleston's own film, "Stranded in Canton." The quality of the video exists in contrast to the sharp, exquisitely composed photographs taken by Eggleston, which are peppered throughout the film. Indeed, the video seems to be an apt metaphor for Eggleston's approach to photography: an approach that is raw and innocent, unencumbered by the philosophy and metaphysics of image and meaning, an approach rooted in a simple, unadulterated love of creating art of all kinds.
Driven by a similar passion for film, Almereyda proves with this portrait of Eggleston that creating film is not something to be restrained by a lack of money, to be reserved for someone with a crew of scores and a budget of millions. Instead, film can be as simple and inexpensive as one man, with a video camera, talking to another man. Such simplicity allows an intimacy and spontaneity that is impossible to achieve in larger productions and that is especially important in exploring the life of someone like William Eggleston.
student film done horribly wrong
fake23-27 September 2005
out of focus. bad sound recording. bad sound mixing. bad framing. bad white balance. and that was the technical problems... pretentious narration mixed with interaction with subject. bad recording on narration. no storytelling. bad verite mixed with regurgitated biographical dribble. takes too long. no character exploration until last 15 min which was completely useless and then simply abandoned.
i would not recommend this film to anyone. i didn't leave early simply because i prayed that sitting through the first 80 minutes of this film would yield 6 minutes of something worthwhile. the answer unfortunately is no.
i would not recommend this film to anyone. i didn't leave early simply because i prayed that sitting through the first 80 minutes of this film would yield 6 minutes of something worthwhile. the answer unfortunately is no.
Happy to have been born in a world with William Eggleston and Michael Almereyda
saareman21 September 2005
I saw Michael Almereyda's "William Eggleston in the Real World" at its Canadian premiere on Sept. 14, 2005 at the Toronto International Film Festival. The screening was part of the Dialogues program at the Fest but Michael Almereyda was unable to attend due to commitments in New York City so there was no Q&A.
This was a film that grew on me, as it started out very boring and became more and more interesting as time went on. Almereyda starts by following Eggleston and his assistant/son Winston as they wander around Mayfield, Kentucky on a commission from Gus Van Sant to shoot photographs. Almereyda's hand-held camera shakes and picks up the wind and all sorts of extraneous noises while Eggleston barely says anything and even when he does it needs sub-titling to help you make it out.* Then they start making their way home to Memphis, Tennessee and stop off at a ruined house for sale by the side of the road, advertised as a "real fixer-upper", and suddenly you start seeing the beauty of the things that Eggleston is seeing in the damaged green roof or the patterns of sunlight on the dusty floors. Soon you are at home with him where he does some amateur improvisations on his electronic keyboard and piano.
Then he takes you along on a trip to visit his girl-friend Leigh Haslip (Eggleston has meanwhile been quite happily married to his wife Rosa for 40 years, and she must just humor his occasional philandering since she later describes him and his family as "He's sweet, all the Egglestons are sweet, it's in their genes"). At Haslip's house, Eggleston sketches a free-form portrait while Haslip herself rather drunkenly rambles and lounges on a couch in her pajamas. Eggleston is still not saying a lot, but you are gradually liking him more and more, as you realize this is an artist with no pretensions whatsoever. He is what he is and he does what he does and he doesn't care about having to explain himself or his work to you at all. You can take it or leave it.
For the rest of the film you follow along on a few more trips such as to the Getty Museum in LA where Eggleston walks around rather anonymously at his own photographic exhibit. You get to view a few clips from Eggleston's own black and white experimental video film "Stranded in Canton" (1973-74)(see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479545/combined) which was also shown at 2005 Toronto Film Fest after having been recently distilled down from 30 hours to about 76 minutes with assistance by director Robert Gordon (see http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1271076/) and film editor John Olivio. There is a single scene towards the end where Almereyda finally seems to get Eggleston pinned down at a restaurant and he tries to get him to talk art and photography with provoking statements such as "Real life is an illusion. Photographs are the reality", and Eggleston protests and disagrees and says that he doesn't understand what Almereyda is talking about. So you never really do get any answers from Eggleston himself.
When the credits role at the end with the sound of Roy Orbison's beautiful singing of "In the Real World" you are back again at Leigh Haslip's house where both she and Eggleston are just gleefully enjoying the song on the stereo while they talk about how happy they are to have not been born in the Middle Ages before there was Roy Orbison. And I'm just as happy to have not been born before there were the photographs of William Eggleston and this film by Michael Almereyda.
Addendum: Feb. 11, 2006 * I recently reread this and remembered that it was sometime early in the film when Almereyda comes out with a line describing some of Eggleston's low angle shots as "if they were taken by the family dog" which got a great laugh out of the audience.
This was a film that grew on me, as it started out very boring and became more and more interesting as time went on. Almereyda starts by following Eggleston and his assistant/son Winston as they wander around Mayfield, Kentucky on a commission from Gus Van Sant to shoot photographs. Almereyda's hand-held camera shakes and picks up the wind and all sorts of extraneous noises while Eggleston barely says anything and even when he does it needs sub-titling to help you make it out.* Then they start making their way home to Memphis, Tennessee and stop off at a ruined house for sale by the side of the road, advertised as a "real fixer-upper", and suddenly you start seeing the beauty of the things that Eggleston is seeing in the damaged green roof or the patterns of sunlight on the dusty floors. Soon you are at home with him where he does some amateur improvisations on his electronic keyboard and piano.
Then he takes you along on a trip to visit his girl-friend Leigh Haslip (Eggleston has meanwhile been quite happily married to his wife Rosa for 40 years, and she must just humor his occasional philandering since she later describes him and his family as "He's sweet, all the Egglestons are sweet, it's in their genes"). At Haslip's house, Eggleston sketches a free-form portrait while Haslip herself rather drunkenly rambles and lounges on a couch in her pajamas. Eggleston is still not saying a lot, but you are gradually liking him more and more, as you realize this is an artist with no pretensions whatsoever. He is what he is and he does what he does and he doesn't care about having to explain himself or his work to you at all. You can take it or leave it.
For the rest of the film you follow along on a few more trips such as to the Getty Museum in LA where Eggleston walks around rather anonymously at his own photographic exhibit. You get to view a few clips from Eggleston's own black and white experimental video film "Stranded in Canton" (1973-74)(see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479545/combined) which was also shown at 2005 Toronto Film Fest after having been recently distilled down from 30 hours to about 76 minutes with assistance by director Robert Gordon (see http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1271076/) and film editor John Olivio. There is a single scene towards the end where Almereyda finally seems to get Eggleston pinned down at a restaurant and he tries to get him to talk art and photography with provoking statements such as "Real life is an illusion. Photographs are the reality", and Eggleston protests and disagrees and says that he doesn't understand what Almereyda is talking about. So you never really do get any answers from Eggleston himself.
When the credits role at the end with the sound of Roy Orbison's beautiful singing of "In the Real World" you are back again at Leigh Haslip's house where both she and Eggleston are just gleefully enjoying the song on the stereo while they talk about how happy they are to have not been born in the Middle Ages before there was Roy Orbison. And I'm just as happy to have not been born before there were the photographs of William Eggleston and this film by Michael Almereyda.
Addendum: Feb. 11, 2006 * I recently reread this and remembered that it was sometime early in the film when Almereyda comes out with a line describing some of Eggleston's low angle shots as "if they were taken by the family dog" which got a great laugh out of the audience.
truisms regarding Bill Eggleston's In the Real World
r-libertypictures3 February 2007
I could not disagree more w/some of the above criticism. Firstly; William Eggleston is GENIUS ABSOLUTE !! He is arguably the Father of Color still's in America. Nonetheless; his vision inspired generations of many artists to redefine how & what we see//Brilliant// Now; the aesthetics of the film were indeed lo-fi !! Their was grain and abrupt camera moving however I felt that the film wasn't trying too be anything other than what it is//HONEST// Eggleston states; "I'm at war with the obvious!!" In the film he walks into a drugstore w/his son both warmly embracing their cameras. Almost immediately are they asked to leave. Mr.Eggleston in a reply to the employee explains with certainty that they are both photographers & this is what fotographers do. The most obvious fact is that the photographer is always authentically himself. He can't help but be REAL/he simply is
Furthermore; their are no facades // it's as if he's like WATER//The film is good at capturing his fluid approach to a long & very successful career. This cinematic treasure is a must see for every eggleston enthusiast World Wide !!
Furthermore; their are no facades // it's as if he's like WATER//The film is good at capturing his fluid approach to a long & very successful career. This cinematic treasure is a must see for every eggleston enthusiast World Wide !!
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