Exploitation Nation

Here is Always Somewhere Else (2007)
D. Rene Daalder
Cult Epics
Full Frame

This documentary from cult film Dutch immigrant cult film director Rene Daalder (Massacre At Central High, Population 1) tells the enigmatic story of his friend, Artist Bas Jan Ader. Also a Dutch immigrant to California during the 60’s they both followed similar paths with one glaring exception. Ader’s final act of artistic expression led to his mysterious death in 1975. As an act of performance art Bas Jan Ader set across the sea to Europe in the world’s smallest sail boat. Called a “walnut shell” by a neighbor it was barely big enough to hold one man. The boat made it to the destination. But Adar was not on baord. He had been lost at sea. This final act of artistic fatality has grown to legendary status creating various myth. Daalder has set out to sift through them to find the man behind them, and possibly what became of his fellow countryman.

He interviews everyone from Bas Jan Ader’s long suffering wife (the scenes of them sifting through the room full of his things that she has kept is very toughing), and his brother, to various Seamen who talk about the lure of the sea.  Whe also get to experience Bas Jan Ader’s artistic work, which seems to be as family member says based in an affair with failure. His most famous photographic work were self portraits of him in depressed states or crying that sent a notion of a man in a state of remorse of desperation. Then he discovered the medium of film. It was here that he found his most epic battle yet. The battle between man and nature. Most specifically the force of gravity. In his first film he climbed atop his one story house with a kitchen chair and sat on the roof and simply waited a moment for gravity to take effect. Before long he was tumbling down the roof and onto the ground. This would become the theme of his films, The battle between him and the fall to the ground and that moment when he would give into the invisible force that would inevitibly pull him to the ground. The “failure” to beat this natural force would be the focus of his work for the remaindure of his life. Until he would give into it completely when he went to sea

This documentary also follows the life of Rene Daalder and his concurrent rise as a filmmaker durinf this same time period. We see film clips of his early work, interviews, and even a very enlightening look at Massacre At Central High where he points out that the main vehicle for killing in that film was inspired by Bas Jan Ader. That the deaths in that movie were all based in gravity.

All in all this is a beautiful, intelligent, touching and sad portrait of a man trying to find peace through art and only finding it in a fool hardy act that destroyed him. The artworld took years to embrace the man as a legend for this act, but as per usual it took the extreme for the artist to find his way.

This dvd includes a second dvd with Bas jan Aders bittersweet films. There is also a Q&A session from the premiere of the film  at the Egyptian theater and a video documentarion of Ader’s art exihibit from 2008.

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