Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Another enthusiastic viewer....

"The King of Scratch" is a fascinating, poignant, sensitive and timely
look at an artist who, in his own inimitable style, knows how to project a
"class act" with symbols and exquisite timing! I see the Leland "auteur"
style coming through more and more -- filmic aspects you were developing in
the earlier works are much more defined here: your focus on the minute and
commonplace (like chickens alive and roasted) to draw attention to a "big
star" in his own land and beyond.

I LOVE the fact that you avoided what I consider the cardinal sin of
documentaries: the voiceover of the filmmaker. You aptly created many moods
and paid homage to the particulars of culture without having to say a word
about them. You let the musicians and others do the speaking, and thus
were able to capture both culture change and culture continuity.

The music took center-stage throughout, and although the DVD is allegedly
about Jamesie, I could really see that it's about everybody. A project
like this cannot be successful without a remarkable team effort, and some of
the shots you were able to capture made me wonder repeatedly how you were
able to gain that level of trust. The bedroom shots in particular are
striking.

Thanks for sharing this remarkable man and his music, Andrea!

Eileen Moore Quinn

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