10. GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE June 5, 2009

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www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

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eveningsout

Dreaming of life after tragedy

by Anthony Glassman

Over the last decade, there have been a large number of music documentaries, approaching their subjects from every conceivable angle.

Some covered entire movements, others zeroed in on the career of a single artist.

Patti Smith

Last autumn, however, Patti Smith: Dream of Life set all of those on their ears. It was the culmination of 11 years of filming by Steven Sebring, who was first hired to shoot Smith for an article in Spin magazine shortly after the death of her husband, Fred "Sonic" Smith.

Patti Smith was told to choose the photographer she wanted for the article. Sebring was recommended by Michael Stipe of REM, one of many gay men who feature so prominently in Smith's life.

She liked his lack of artifice, the matter-offact way he showed her. And that, to a degree, is one of the facets of Smith that has characterized her career. She has no façade; she bares her soul in her poetry, in her music, in her activism.

Smith, who is herself bisexual, was to a

great extent defined by the gay men around her. In her early days in New York, she became friends with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.

She used to wait in the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel for William S.

Burroughs, who

realized she had a major crush on him.

"But darling," he told her in a gravelly voice she impersonates during the film, "I am a homosexual!"

After Fred's death, one of the first people to call and express his condolences was Allen Ginsberg, the beat poet whose long-form poem "Howl" defined a generation.

The viewer meets Smith's parents, as well as her son Jackson and daughter Jesse, both of whom also play music. The documentary wraps with Smith musing on playing with her son he is taller than Fred was, but Jackson fills his shoes well, she says. It's an incredibly touching moment in a film full of emotion.

Patti Smith at Coney Island

Shortly after her husband's death, she went back to the studio, released an album, then went on the road for the first time in 16 years, looking to support her offspring. Stipe was there, as was the queer punk-rock icon Benjamin Smoke, himself the subject of another documentary.

For every step of her life, there were gay men intrinsically involved in her growth and maturation. It's a fascinating story, one told with an incredible amount of love.

The DVD release includes a booklet with some lush photographs as well as

thoughts from both Sebring and Smith, and additional features on the disc include an extended interview with Jackson Smith, deleted scenes and raw footage.

The DVD should be available at most retailers, and is also readily available online. Those who love music should grab this documentary immediately, even if their specific interest isn't with proto-punk or folk-rock. It is such a moving film, the story can speak to anyone.

Namaste

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