I'm sure you've heard of Patti Smith for one reason or another. Either you know her because of her music - a forerunner of punk rock, nicknamed "The Godmother of Punk",
with eleven active albums, the first in 1975, Horses, and the most recent in 2012, Banga - or thanks to her writings - poetry, especially the first volume of poems before the music: Seventh Heaven or the rare edition Early Morning Dream - respectively the recent translation of his autobiography, When we were just kids or his art, you already know that Patti Smith is a complete artist.
With a story full of ups and downs, a music legend, activist, multi-award winning for his work, Patti Smith is a special personality that inspires us today. That's why when I found a documentary with and about Patti Smith called "Dream Of Life" (from the name of her 1988 album), I could only rejoice and make time to watch it in peace.
What's more, this documentary is very, very special:
first, because the one who made it, the photographer Steven Sebring, patiently and skillfully, filmed this documentary over the course of eleven years (!);
then, because Patti Smith is the voice-over that tells us the details of her life, of the influences she had (from William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Bob Dylan, Robert Mapplethorpe, Michael Stipe to Rimbaud, Genet, Dylan Thomas, Oscar Wilde etc.), the one who talks, especially, about music, but also about her poetry, about love, losses, her philosophy of life, creativity, ecc.
So the result is a film of almost 110 minutes, mostly with touches of black and white, rare sequences during Patti Smith's concerts, unique photos, all constituting an intimate portrait (a kind of diary in front of the camera to take pictures, I would say) of one of the most important artists of the twentieth century.
This documentary with and about Patti Smith premiered in 2008 at the Berlin Film Festival. He was awarded the Excellence in Cinematography Award at the Sundance Film Festival. Steven Sebring also released a 416-page photo album with Patti Smith in the same year that the film premiered, with the same title as the 416-page documentary, which can be found right here Dream of Life.
Before I invite you to watch the documentary with and about Patti Smith, I have to mention that I don't think that's enough to fully discover the artist. In other words, I would recommend that you read her autobiography first (to understand, for example, her relationship with Robert Mapplethorpe).
The film does not benefit from any introductions, it does not present Patti Smith a priori, but it starts from the idea that those who watch it do it because they already know who the American artist is and what she did.
Otherwise, if you're a lifelong fan of Patti Smith, the documentary "Dream Of Life" will fill your mind about it and you'll love it.
Image Sources:
Patty Smith
Horses 75
YouTube Video:
Dream of Life