THE COLOR OF TIME – The Review

There is poetry in all things, if we only know where to look. The poet’s job is to notice this wonderment, this awesome beauty of everyday life and everything around us and put it into words so we can realize what an amazing thing life and the world really is.

THE COLOR OF TIME is a daring experimental film based on the poetry of C.K. Williams, a Pulitzer Prize winner.  I read a lot but quite frankly poetry is not my favorite, especially newer and current poets. After viewing THE COLOR OF TIME I intend to seek out C.K. Williams’ poetry. A lovely and wonderful little film has been fashioned from his work.

We see and hear the real C.K. Williams at the beginning and end of the film. In between we see different stages of his life, written and directed by eight credited people, none of whom I had ever heard of before.  Based on what we see Color of Time deserves an audience.

We see moments in the life of C.K. Williams at different ages and locations. James Franco plays the mature poet, giving a reading at a university and revisiting the area where he grew up in Detroit. Mila Kunis plays his wife.

The poet’s youth put me in mind of TREE OF LIFE, mainly due to Jessica Chastain playing his mother and the free form, stream of consciousness style of the whole project. And in my opinion that is a good thing. But THE COLOR OF TIME is its own special film, unique in its viewpoint and theme.

We see C.K. going through several life events at different ages;  being chastised by his father, bonding with his mother, playing with other kids, visiting a prostitute, taking LSD and going to a rave like party, finding and loving his wife, reflecting on the nuclear disaster at Three Mile Island.

Otherwise mundane events take on a new meaning and clarity due to being reflected through the eyes of a poet, a good one.   THE COLOR OF TIME is itself a book of poetry, set to film.  We feel and think along with the poet as he experiences life’s journey, and hear his words over every image and scene.

Like many films these days THE COLOR OF TIME does not follow a linear progression, there is no real “story” as such. This is not really a biographical movie either, although it does detail one man’s life. We jump around in time exactly the way any human being will when recalling events in their life.

Someone wiser than me once said that memory is not like a filing cabinet, with everything neatly folded and labeled and indexed so we can withdraw a file and search its contents at a later date. Memory is more like an Army duffel bag, with every item stuffed in at random and not so easily extracted in the order they occurred. Memory is random, chaotic, free form.  As Klaus Kinski said:  “my head is like a garbage can with everything all jumbled up inside!”

THE COLOR OF TIME is a memory piece but is also so much more, we learn a lot about the human condition, about our condition, what it takes to be a person and what makes us a person. Eight writers and directors were put together to make the film, (I’m speculating here) to give each section its own tone and texture, to differentiate the different ages and places in which we see the poet living his life. The effect is seamless, this movie is a masterpiece.

This type of film would have to be difficult for actors; James Franco for instance has matured as an actor and does profound work here. There is none of the smugness and arch condescension that colored some of other his other work (I’m looking at Spring Breakers ya’ll!). Here he is perfect as the mature poet revisiting his youth. In one scene we even get a cameo from Bruce Campbell!

And Mila Kunis is always good, the woman just glows, she brings  intelligence and  humor and warmth to everything she does, every time she steps in front of a camera. Here she is luminous, standing out in the few scenes she is in.

THE COLOR OF TIME is the type of film that will have you thinking about it, recalling certain passages, days later.  It is film to revisit, more than once, I can imagine that it would look different every time it is viewed.  Film IS an art form, I know it is also a business, but sometimes a true work of art slips into the system. If you love films, if you are true Movie Geek you owe it to yourself to see THE COLOR OF TIME, this one’s a keeper.

Now what was I did in April 1983?  Oh yeah…….

THE COLOR OF TIME

Opening in Select Theaters December 12, 2014
Available on iTunes and all digital platforms December 2, 2014
Available on all VOD platforms December 9, 2014

https://www.facebook.com/thecoloroftimemovie

(Photo Credit: Starz Digital)