| Directer: | Alexander Olch |
| Starring: | |
| Countries: | USA |
| Genre: | Documentary |
| Year: | 2008 |
| Type: | Color |
| Language: | In English |
| Length: | 80 mins. |
| Aspect Ratio: | 1.33:1 theatrical aspect ratio |
What if someone wrote your autobiography? Would it be true? What if someone took the images of your life and made a film?
Culling from a 200-hour trove of footage, filmmaker Alexander Olch has cleverly invented an imaginary autobiography-by-proxy of his mentor, legendary documentary and experimental filmmaker Richard P. Rogers. The result is a mind-bending essay film constructed of sun-dappled Hamptons lawn parties, plane rides to exotic locales, stunningly raw moments with Rogers' domineering mink-coated mother, and new footage with Rogers' childhood friend, actor Wallace Shawn.
Harvard-educated, born to privilege in NYC, Rogers was a tortured soul torn between the narrow patrician loyalties of his upbringing and a desire for artistic achievement on his own, unmitigated terms. Though Rogers did complete many remarkable works in his career, his untimely death at age 57 put an end to his magnum opus: an autobiographical project he had worked on for 25 years. The tragic and profound story of a gifted artist, The Windmill Movie is ultimately a mind-bending cinematic amalgam that beautifully explores the chasm between documentary and fiction.
Critical Acclaim
“A mind-bending autobiography by proxy!” Four Stars. –Time Out New York
“A profoundly empathetic study of unfulfilled artistic ambition, and of the emotional ruthlessness that often separates great artists from decent people.” –John Anderson, Washington Post
“A love letter to fading memory and the passage of time” –New York Magazine (Critic’s Pick)
Official Selection – New York Film Festival
Official Selection - AFI Silverdocs
SPECIAL FEATURES
• Two previously unreleased Richard Rogers shorts: Elephants: Fragments of an Argument and 226-1690 (aka The Answering Machine Movie)
• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hearing impaired (SDH)
• Original essay by critic Scott Foundas
