Sketches of Frank Gehry (2005)

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Release Date:

13 September 2006 (France)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot:

A look at the life and work of the renown architect.

Plot Keywords:

Building | Artist | Fish | Canadian | Teamwork

Cast

Charles Arnoldi	...	Himself (as Chuck Arnoldi)
Barry Diller	...	Himself
Michael Eisner	...	Himself
Rolf Fehlbaum	...	Himself
Hal Foster	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mildred Friedman	...	Herself
Frank O. Gehry	...	Himself
Bob Geldof	...	Himself
Dennis Hopper	...	Himself
Charles Jencks	...	Himself
Philip Johnson	...	Himself
Thomas Krens	...	Himself
Peter Lewis	...	Himself
Herbert Muschamp	...	Himself
Michael Ovitz	...	Himself
Sydney Pollack	...	Himself
Norman Rosenthal	...	Himself
Edward Ruscha	...	Himself
Esa-Pekka Salonen	...	Himself
Julian Schnabel	...	Himself
Milton Wexler	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language.

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | Australia:M | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Anaheim ICE - 300 W. Lincoln Avenue, Anaheim, California, USA

Company:

American Masters

Movie Connections:

References Plane Crazy (1928)

Brilliant - balanced look at a man and his art

Pollack sets up the documentary perfectly by explaining that he knows nothing about architecture (which is probably very far from the truth,) and that Gehry enlisted him to do the doc. This sets up the audience to be able to see the architecture through the eyes of a curious onlooker as Pollack attempts to understand the process of the 'artist' in creating his works. This formula works perfectly to explore the creative process and the realization of Gehry's ideas as they turn into solid form.

The conversational and friendly banter between Pollack and Gehry is great. The comfort they obviously share helps to relax the entire film and to reveal what may not take place if the subject were scrutinized by someone less familiar. Due to their history together Pollack has an inside scoop into Gehry already, which opens up a series of questions that take the film in all directions.

There are many great building shots, in the attempt to fit in as much diverse architecture as possible without over saturating it (thankfully.) There is a nice balance between the man and his art, which makes for a very enjoyable experience, and makes one hungry to see more of Gehry's work off the screen, which doesn't do it justice.

We also get an inside look at how he and his staff are all involved in the creative process, and how vital it is that others are involved to help him realize his vision.

There are a lot of great interviews - the highlights were Gehry's therapist (for over 30 years), who could have a documentary about himself, and Julian Schnabel, who has some hilarious insights (his Apocalypse Now analogy killed me.) There are plenty of others - not simply talking heads but people revealing more and more layers.

My only complaint is the one negative critic in the film, who is a poor representation of the anti-gehry side. He seems set up as a buffoon, due to his observations mostly...but who knows what's left on the cutting room floor. Including him feels like an intentional dig and depreciates the fairness of the observations of Gehry. I'm sure they could have interviewed someone more articulate, but at least he's there to state his side...

Anyone interested in creativity and the processes therein will enjoy this film. A great first documentary from accomplished filmmaker Pollack. If you want a good companion to this try My Architect by Nathaniel Kahn.