There must have been some cosmic force trying to stop me and my friend from seeing this film, from traffic that set us back almost twenty minutes, to finding out the tiny theater off La Brea wouldn’t take cards, and then the ATM at the gas station on the corner was broken. Against all odds, we managed to get money and tickets and somehow, even though we were well over 30 minutes late, it felt like we hadn’t missed a thing. The distinct, naive, and charming voice of Daniel Johnston shot out as we walked into the screening room and found place to sit. What we saw, is difficult to describe other than with vague reviewer and blurb buzzwords– moments of heart breaking genius, of uplifting joy, of madness and depression, a man’s repeated rise and fall through success and health. Beautiful, really. Much to our surprise, the film’s director was there when the film ended and took questions from the audience.
Go see this film, if you have the opportunity. If you can’t see the film, get some of Daniel Johnston’s music, if you can’t get his music, try to find his artwork on display in a museum.
Get Daniel Johnston in your life.
The Devil and Daniel Johnston Official Film Website
technorati tags:reviews, film, movies, daniel_johnston, music, art
The Leviathan 