Eric Scott Latek is an extraordinary storyteller and filmmaker and his nonfiction film, Sweet Dreams, championed by the likes of Nancy Buirski and Thom Powers, is not being seen. Yes, it's played at various festivals, and last week Powers programmed it for his Stranger Than Fiction series at the IFC Center in New York with filmmaker and subject (Gary Balletto, pictured) appearing in person. But, my goodness, if ever there was a piece that deserved a wide theatrical release, this would be a good choice.
Shot, cut and composed by Latek, Sweet Dreams was shot over the course of three years in the "wiseguy belt" of Providence, Rhode Island and follows two young Italian-American men, one a bit of a lost soul who's failing miserably as a bookie, the other your basic small-town hero, quietly going about the business of being extraordinary, in every way--as an athlete, a husband, a father, a businessman, and a community leader.
Drawn to this film mostly because I'm a huge boxing fan, thanks to Saturday afternoons sitting on the couch together with my father watching match after match, I had no idea what kind of depth and artistic virtuosity I would encounter. It was a bit serendipitous that Jason Kohn, the director of Manda Bala (Send a Bullet), was also sitting in the theater, because this film left me with the same kind of awe I felt after watching his film at Full Frame last year. Latek's film was in the same program and, somehow, I missed it there. And while Kohn's film has secured more public notice due to a Grand Jury Prize in Documentary at Sundance last year and via select theatrical screenings, Latek's has pretty much languished in obscurity despite screening in 30 select cities via satellite by Emerging Pictures last year through their Emerging Cinemas Network. (They are also helping John Sayles with his latest release, The Honeydripper.)
The film is visually and aurally stunning, with intricate, carefully composed layers of narrative that flood the senses. Latek edits his own piece so hypnotically that I'm pretty sure it's almost a completely intuitive process for him at this point. Textures are seamlessly woven together--sort of like my gorgeous Turkish rugs. You can stare and stare at all the imagery that's in front of you and somehow take it all in--a lot of times it has the feeling of saturation, near claustrophobia, you're so close. It's visceral and it's exhilarating because you can't sit passively very comfortably--I was wiggling around in my seat. You feel like you're in there. Just like I felt when I watched Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran or George Foreman prance around like over-sized ballerinas and then, boom, down goes the guy facing them the moment before.
Latek, who claims to not be able to play a note of music on any instrument whatsoever, also composed the score. Huh? Yes, on the computer, he can compose, too, and the rest is filled in by the classical music he also loves. (And as Powers noted, the classical stuff is free to use).
In the film's press release, Latek says he is going to "continue to push the method of marrying documentary with the filmmaking conventions of fictional cinema." If that means making more films like this, push it, baby. Well done.
Agreed! I was STF, and was completely melted and fried from this film just as you were. I just did not expect to witness so much depth and intimacy. Simply one of the best docs I have seen in a long time. And like you said, literally shot, edited, did the music...simply amazing. I have no doubt we'll be seeing much more great stories from Erik.
Such an approach transcends what I have seen in the doc market--and these things don't happen by accident. All the way through to the final shot (which blew my mind). I was just in awe--completely hypnotized by the images, the story, the colors, like that of a Kubrick flick. And theatrical release...without question. The fact that this film is under the radar and not in theaters proves how mindless the industry is. This is a cinematic gem and must be seen. Period.
Posted by: Jason Teller | February 12, 2008 at 04:39 PM