Townes Van Zandt - Be Here to Love Me

USA 2005, 100 minutes
Dir. Margaret Brown
Rating: [Exempt]
Genres: Music, Documentary / Country & Folk

Aroview: Evenhanded, tenderly-puzzled documentary about the country songwriter Townes Van Zandt (1944-1997), creator of a canon of forlorn, quirky and witty gems (including "Pancho and Lefty"), but also a distressingly unstable individual given to self-destructive acts and substance abuse.

Charting a path through archival performances and interviews with a slew of friends and family, many of whom offer up entertaining and sad anecdotes of Van Zandt's life, this is required viewing for country and folk music fans, and an enlightening taster for those unfamiliar with this cult figure. Includes interviews with Steve Earle, Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett and many others.

NZ International Film Festival 2005