I know I typically stick with fairly technical stuff on this site. But there’s a trailer so I’ll pretend it is a little technical…
One of my favorite authors, Jack Kerouac, wrote a number of books. And when he was “just plumb sick and tired…of the whole nerve-wracking scene” he wrote Big Sur. Unlike On the Road or some of his earlier works that look at a new generation with fresh eyes, as something that is exciting and new Big Sur is a book from a haunted man, trying to reconcile these new ideas with his own upbringing and the contradictions that he has seen. In Big Sur, he becomes disenchanted with the follies of the generation, maybe expecting more. This is a central theme of many of Hunter S. Thompson’s books as well, but something that with Kerouac was more of a transition.
There was always something almost musical about Big Sur though. Kerouac said “Oh the sad music of it all, I’ve done it all, seen it all, done everything with everybody…” One Fast Move or I’m Gone is a new movie from Kerouac films that looks at the book, one of Kerouac’s lesser read novels, and combines music, imagery, commentary and prose read by some of the best of todays acting talent. It’s a fantastic film.
The One Fast Move or I’m Gone soundtrack alone will make this movie worth seeing, a new album from Benjamin Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie and the Postal Service) and Jay Farrar (of Uncle Tupelo and Sun Volt) an unlikely combination that results in a fantastic soundtrack, a bit of Americana maybe as Kerouac would have liked to see it.
Finally, it looks like Kerouac Films will also be doing features on both Big Sur and Dharma Bums. If those are anything like One Fast Move or I’m Gone then I cannot wait to see them!