lee and i have listened to daniel johnston's music for a few years. it is filled with juvenile ramblings, silly phrases, and for the most part, catchy tunes. lee appreciated his music more, knowing some history about daniel, than myself. However, my opinion changed after watching the 2005 Sundance Film Festival hit, "the devil and daniel johnston", last night. it is an extremely moving and personal story that will make you cry, laugh, and feel the utmost gratitude for everything you have. it's the story of daniel's love and obsession for art, music, and archiving his life (and recording his mother yelling at him, which is hilarious, by the way). but it's also about his terrible suffering with manic depression. the downward spiral is more than apparent in the film and you just feel so much for his parents, who have tried to do everything to help him. i can't imagine having a child with any sort of mental illness. i can't imagine the pain and anguish his parents must constantly deal with. watching the show fills your heart with so much love for this man (and his parents). it makes you love his lyrics and appreciate his music and art. he is an amazing individual. it makes you hope, with all your might, to have any and all of his dreams come true, to find the love of his life. you want him to become stable enough to feel the joy of having a career as an incredible artist and musician. and at times, you want the fame for him. the real fame. and you want it to last. the archival of his life is incredible. as you're watching, you're thinking to yourself, "i can't believe he has this recorded." it is amazing. he literally has hundreds of audio and video tapes of every event in his life. i highly recommend this film to all of you. watch the clip for the original trailer. you will be astounded! and tearful.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
Posted by raina at 3:18 PM
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