The Filth Elder
I’m beginning to think that this was the equivalent of Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth last year – it doesn’t really tell you anything you didn’t already know, but it’s good to know he’s doing it, and it’s always possible that someone, somewhere, will have their life changed by it.
Like Gore’s film, This Filthy World is basically just a filmed version of John Waters’ stage show, with near static cameras and about three audience reaction shots (all good for at least one person who doesn’t get the joke). It suffers slightly in crossing the Atlantic – references that might be obvious to Americans – or possibly just students of American trash culture – don’t play so well, compared to the (admittedly in poor taste) skit about Michael Jackson’s personal burns unit.
One hopes that Waters’ always positive stories about the people he’s worked with are sincere – it would chime with the almost straightforward morality of tolerance that colours his films. Certainly one gets the sense that even when he’s mocking, say, the inhabitants of his native Baltimore (snatches of priceless dialogue overheard: “Why is mommy crying?” – “Because you’re an asshole.”) it’s driven by affection, not contempt – a delight in the fact that this world is so imperfect, so filthy.
[Q&A session to follow]
I saw:
- 16/08/07, 8:30pm: John Waters: This Filthy World (Cineworld 7)
comment: