Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt (2004)

Director:

Margaret Brown

Release Date:

22 December 2005 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Tagline:

What would you sacrifice to follow your dream?

Plot Keywords:

Concert Footage | Music Industry | Folk Music | Singer | Solo Performance

Cast

Townes van Zandt	...	Himself (archive footage)
Joe Ely	...	Himself
Guy Clark	...	Himself
Willie Nelson	...	Himself
Kris Kristofferson	...	Himself
Donna Spence	...	Herself
Ann Rice	...	Herself
Luke Sharpe	...	Himself
John Ruehl	...	Himself
Bob 'Maverick' Myrick	...	Himself
Frank 'Chito' Greer	...	Himself
Fran Lohr	...	Herself
Jerry Jeff Walker	...	Himself
Kevin Eggers	...	Himself
Wrecks Bell	...	Himself

Runtime:

99 min | Argentina:99 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:Atp

Company:

Rake Films

Movie Connections:

Features Heartworn Highways (1981)

Soundtrack:

Delta Momma Blues

Surpasses your average Vh1 documentary AND THEN SOME! Great film.

Even if you're not a fan of documentaries, hell, even if you're not a fan of folk/country, Be Here To Love Me is a beautiful and well-directed story of the life of singer/songwriter Townes Van Zandt. More than just a movie for hardcore fans of the genre and the artist, the impeccable visual style of the movie keeps the average movie-goer enthralled within it's heartfelt and hilarious interviews of friends, family, and musical contemporaries give dialogue almost too good for a movie.

But then you're reminded that it's a documentary; it's fairly easy to forget. The only narration is the actual audio, be it phone calls (such as in the amazing opening sequence to "At My Window"), home movies, live performances, or the music itself. The camera pans across montages of midwest scenes: old men in the old mens' bars, truck driving, wandering through the desert, and so many others that play like one gorgeous, intermittent music video. Some of the dialogue is unforgettable, be it Townes discussing his addiction to airplane glue, Guy Clark laughing at him hitting on his wife, or his own mother expressing sorrow for exposing him to shock treatments early in his life.

The overall pace of the movie becomes disrupted near the last 20-30 minutes, as the overall flow of themes in Townes' life unfold less and less precisely and with as much organization as the beginning, but that's basically the only flaw to an otherwise brilliant documentary.

Not knowing much about Townes as a person, I can say that this movie helped me fall in love with his music and find new respect for the genre. I recommend it to anyone who loves this man, loves these kinds of quirky stories, loves country/folk, or... well, I recommend it to anyone!