Two posts in one day! What would it take to get two posts in one day out of me? I’ll tell you. I saw another movie over the weekend. You know, one of those “instant recommendation”* movies? I would like to add to that list The Devil and Daniel Johnston, a documentary on the life of manic/depressive musician Daniel Johnston.
I was introduced to Daniel Johnston through Songs in the Key of Z, a compilation album of “outsider music” (“outsider music” being a nice way of saying “amusingly awful”). On the CD, Johnston was a novelty, one of many purveyors of low-quality fodder for the MST3K crowd. In the film, he’s a person who struggles with a manic/depressive mood disorder coupled with delusions. The film captures both his rise from obscurity to..um..slightly lower obscurity, and also his descent into his illness and its effect on his family and friends. The film illuminated the condition and gave me new understanding of a living, breathing person.
I have great admiration for any film or documentary that can open my eyes in this way. Don’t miss it.
*See my post on Prince Caspian for more details (and an example of the opposite!)
Tags: Daniel Johnston, delusions, manic/depression, mental illness
