By skyforbes Before the film, a small red circle illuminates the screen. Crispin steps on stage, the circle framing his head. "I will now read from six books." And he does just that; alongside a slideshow presentation of scans from the books. I won't lie and say I understood a lick of what was read, but his enthusiasm and sheer WTFuckery of it all was entertaining enough. (I won't lie, it got a little thin after a few books; six might have been pushing it.)
The film itself was shot on 35mm and features Crispin Glover and his father Bruce Glover playing a variety of characters spanning over a century in storytelling. Occasionally, the film flashes to present day with Crispin and Bruce playing themselves, discussing the film we're watching. At times these segments are self aware and hilarious. At others, it feels like a cross between Neil Breen and Tommy Wiseau. I'm not going to lie and say that the film spoke to me in any particular way and Crispin even acknowledged in the Q&A that he realized the film was confusing and purposefully leaned in to that; as he loves the surreal. But it was an experience unlike any other, and one that I could only experience in this very particular setting and never again. Much like his prior film "What is It?" once it was gone, it was gone and the only way to see it now is through very rare bootlegs. But no bootleg can recreate the initial run being presented by the director himself.
At a time when the movie theater experience is on life support, it's important to support true independent filmmaking feats; no matter how batshit they may be. I didn't enjoy the film, but I appreciated the experience.