The Folk Singer: A Tale of Men, Music and America proves two things: M.A. Littler ("The Road to Nod") is a powerful filmmaker who gets It, and Jon Konrad Wert (Possessed by Paul James) is an equally powerful musician who also gets It. Neither of these men are household names, but in a perfect world they would be. Unfortunately, we live on a planet where perception is everything, talent only gets you so far and art is marketed and imitated until it loses any semblance of originality. Enter these two men.

M.A. Littler uses this film to return to the realm of non-fiction. It isn't necessarily a documentary, but it is a journey. He takes his passion of American blues (our birthright), folk and other Southern comforts and combines it with his love of the acts on Voodoo Rhythm Records (a music label out of Switzerland that puts out some of the best rock, blues, country, folk, swamp rock that you will ever hear). What he creates isn't another documentary on the record label, as he already did that, but instead a focus on one of its artists -- Jon Konrad Wert.

Wert is Possessed By Paul James, an act that is as real and raw as a Kentucky moonshine operation. It is more bluesy than folk (at least in my opinion), but all the trappings are there to make it an experience none will soon forget. The beauty of this film, however, is not that Littler concentrates on Wert or his music. No, he lets the camera follow the musician around as he discusses things like art versus commercial viability, balancing responsibility with the financial instability associated with being a musician, religion, the state of America and so on with his artistic peers and other people. These discussions don't produce any hard and fast answers, but do raise many interesting points to ponder. Every single artist I've ever known (musician or otherwise) has had these conversations. If you aren't lucky enough to have engaged in them, this film will prove to be eye opening.

There is one scene part way through the film that exemplifies Littler's filmmaking style (which is just as real as Wert's music) and Wert the man. Wert is sitting out in the middle of nowhere in the deep South with a few other musician buddies. They have rifles in hand. They are discussing the state of the American economy, which at the time the scene had to have been filmed, hadn't yet reached the meltdown stage that helped put Obama in office. They talk about how the collapse is coming and how this may bring around positive change. Alcohol is consumed, and a joint is passed around. Cut to the men shooting at bottles. It is an inspired scene that not only puts the spotlight on Wert and Littler, but also America. It is symbolism at its finest, but yet so very natural. This is the type of filmmaking that makes Littler a director worth watching.

A film that is all about talking (with some great music thrown in) is not an easy task to pull off. We live in a world where movies are supposed to be entertainment... even to the more intellectual among us. There's supposed to be a beginning, middle and end -- a story to be told. Even many documentaries follow this limiting but utilitarian format. "The Folk Singer" does not. It is a meandering film that is far more complex than what most people are used to in a movie, and that alone ensures that not enough people will give it a chance. That is, quite frankly, a shame, as this is probably one of the best films to come out of 2008. There are no superheroes, no celebrity-voiced animated pandas, or bullwhip-wielding senior citizens, but there is plenty of mental stimulation and music that absolutely pounds the crap out of what you hear on the radio on a daily basis. If that doesn't get you to watch it, you're already dead.

07/23/2010
SAVING COUNTRY MUSIC

The Folk Singer is the exact right movie for this very moment in time. It courageously reaches down to the deepest measure of the human soul and spirit and mines what cannot be expressed in words. It says what we are all thinking, but were incapable heretofore of saying. You watch this movie and say, “See, THAT is what I mean.” And when your quizzed to put what ‘THAT’ is in concise terms, your only recourse is to simply say, “See the movie.”

It is a film for people who ‘get it,’ who are tormented in a world that doesn’t. Sin and faith are all over this movie, but not always in the religious context we’re all used to. It’s more about how it’s a sin not to pursue your one God given talent or calling, and how you have to have faith that by pursuing that talent, everything will work out. Like Reverend Deadeye says, “The Lord will provide.” But in a dying culture faith seems so faint, and at such war with reason.

The Folk Singer is a journey. It follows Possessed by Paul James aka Konrad Wert, a One Man Band raised by Mennonites and a preacher father, as he tours through Texas and Louisiana, the whole time being eaten alive by the knowledge that his better half is 5 months pregnant, and playing music, and least in its current form, will not provide. On this journey he meets up with other one man bands, mainly Scott H. Biram, whose lightheartedness contrasts with Konrad’s dark place, as well as Reverend Deadeye, Tom VandenAvond, and Ghostwriter.

The Folk Singer Movie Possessed by Paul JamesOne man bands are like the soldiers on the front line of cultural decay and homogenization. As the old world crumbles around them they scream into the noise and demolition, cursing progress with Stoic and stern faces. They are like troubadours working in the middle of a battlefield or the crash of a tidal wave, fearlessly chronicling the passing of beauty and reason, illustrating society’s foolishness with brutal art, doing so out of some sense of duty, with little concern for their own life or limb.

This movie has many deep themes, one being brotherhood. Many questions are posed. Few if any are answered. But there is a sense of camaraderie knowing that others have those questions, that you are not alone. As Scott Biram is quoted from the movie, “You can rejoice in one another’s sharing of pain.” One Man Bands connect with their audience in a deeper, more personal way than full bands do because they have to give so much more of themselves. That same deep connection is harnessed by this movie, delivering the audience right into the moments.

The Folk Singer Movie Scott H BiramAt first this movie was hard to read. It has a documentary feel, but clearly its progression and some of the scenes had been thought out beforehand, so it takes a bit for your brain to settle in as it doesn’t know if to be in documentary or drama mode. Really it should be in neither, or both. Also in the beginning scenes, everyone seemed a little tense, like they didn’t know how to act with cameras pointed at them. Eventually they settle down and the film flows smoothly.

The cinematography is top notch. Everything you see in this movie is dirty, old, and dying. There are numerous spontaneous music performances. Konrad Wert takes his fiddle out and accompanies each of the people he meets along his way in song, and this populates a soundtrack that is worthy of its own review.

I also think that it is important to point out that M.A. Littler, the force behind this film is based in German, again proving that the Europeans are light years ahead in chronicling American roots culture. I’m happy that someone is stepping up to the plate, but there should be a film like this coming out every few months, from people right here in The States. But kudos to Littler for doing what few Americans have the courage or persistence to do.

The argument has come up here and many other places lately about people saying they hope that underground music doesn’t become popular, or more popular than it is. They want to keep it exclusive. They want to keep their favorite artists starving so that the good art keeps flowing. For those with that misguided notion, The Folk Singer is the cure.

Two guns up.

German director M.A. Littler got noticed last year in the festival circuit with The Road to Nod, a slow-moving existential film noir with religious references and a moody blues soundtrack. The film travelled all over the world and even won a well-deserved Jury Prize at the Boston Underground Film Festival. Being a very productive filmmaker, it took Littler just a few months to produce and direct another feature. The Folksinger just had its world premiere at the Deep Blues Music & Film Festival where it grabbed the best documentary award. Such recognition might raise a few eyebrows because this movie isn’t a straightforward doc, but a strange object sitting on the thin line between reality and fiction.

Having directed many documentaries on underground musicians, it seemed only logical that M.A. Littler would decided to explore their world with a traditional narrative. But in the tradition of John Cassavetes, the use of fiction in The Folksinger is pretty limited, the story is thin and turns out to be a device to capture the artist’s confessions on a wide variety of subjects. With all the protagonists playing themselves, it becomes clear that all the statements in the film are true, making them informative and moving. A scene featuring a singer describing his inner-demons hits with a sad honesty that can only be found in the best documentaries.

The photography is beyond beautiful. The vivid colors and the static shots transform a South we’ve seen so many times on the screen into a new world to explore. Littler also presents a different face of America with abandoned buildings, low-key stores and lonesome roads. The characters follow a philosophy that doesn’t fit in the ever-changing country. They’re doomed to travel like ghosts in the ruins of a glorified past. A past that remains trough music. Anyone into folk must hear this film for the amazing soundtrack composed mostly of live performances. Old classics are mixed with new tracks, making you wish a soundtrack could eventually become available.

Sure, the film is not for everyone, it has people talking and no action, but anyone into music or looking for an old-school New Wave kinda film will be pleased by it. The Folksinger might not be the accomplishment The Road to Nod was, but it does confirm the filmmaker’s unique vision. M.A. Littler is one of the most promising voice in independent cinema.