Sachs, referencing the title of Yvonne Rainer’s landmark feminist feature Film About a Woman Who (1974), practices what Rainer was preaching—and in turn has constructed one of the most powerfully pertinent documentaries of recent years.
New York poets Valery Oisteanu and Lynne Sachs make distillations, sometimes with words, sometimes with images.
Lynne Sachs discusses her new movie “Film About a Father Who” and her 2006 film “States of UnBelonging” with Ynet.
Knowing that Lynne has been working on this film for 26 years, it’s easy to wonder why she doesn’t come to a more definitive conclusion about who her father is or what family means for her and her siblings.
The film is generous in its portrayal of Sachs’ father and achingly vulnerable in its attempt to make sense of the wake of affection and resentment he has left behind. Sachs takes a story that could have been overly dramatic and judgmental and instead constructs a nuanced meditation on what it feels like to love someone whose actions have hurt us and others.
As women in the director’s chair or anywhere else on a set, we should celebrate the bonds we build together behind the camera.
Documentaries are often that idea that what you see is not what you will get in the end and in a way because of the brave way in which Lynne chooses to put herself out there, comfortable or not, we really see a 4th wall crash that presents such a compelling and shocking result.
There are numerous shots of family members filming other relatives; at one point, Lynne is filming Ira Jr. filming Ira Sr. while watching home movies on the television.
Video Interview: Lynne Sachs discusses “Film About a Father Who” with Joe Compton at the 2020 Slamdance Film Festival.
To say that Ira Sachs Sr. is an interesting character would be an understatement. He is the perfect leading man for a cinematic oeuvre like ‘Film About a Father Who’.
