a few things about THE INVENTION OF DR. NAKAMATS

i had the great pleasure of seeing roger ebert speak last saturday.  he was introduced by a series of famous directors (terry zwigoff, philip kaufman, jason reitman, and of course errol morris) and the criterion conquistador and i left the theater a little teary-eyed and completely in awe of well, cinema.  star-studded and fairly glamorous what i left the castro theater with was the sense that roger ebert is as well respected as he is not because of the sheer breadth of his output (though that isn't so shabby itself) or the pure beauty his writing emits (again, right on the money there) but more so because of his ability and want to champion the smaller films.  ebert, though i can't say we've always agreed on everything, loves film, big or small, and when he latches on to something he loves he fights for it in every way.  all of his presenters made the point that their films would've gone nowhere without the two-fisted fighting of the great ebert.  it left me inspired and more than ready to champion a few films of my own.

sure this is a tiny blog with a tiny readership but hell, maybe if i shout a little louder about some of the great movies i have the opportunity to see each week, someone will listen. 

that said:

i saw a film called the invention of dr. nakamats at this years san francisco international film festival.  clocking in at only a brief 54 minutes (with opening and closing credits) the film left me stunned and excited about the prospect of cinema.  the highest honor for any film is its ability to inspire in me the urge to watch more films.

dr. nakamats certainly did so.  can't say so about the rest of the festival's offerings but this film, all 54 minutes of its slow expansive peek in to the can't-believe-this-man-real life of dr. nakamats had my hungering for more, more, more.

this is the trailer, and then, a few things about dr. nakamats:



ahhhhhhh, dr. nakamats, you wily old codger you.

a few more facts for the kiddies reading at home:

1. dr. nakamats invented the floppy disk. above, in that amazing trailer, you'll see dr. nakamats standing in front of his house in front of what he deems "the dr. nakamats floppy disk gate." and it is just that, a gate made to resemble a floppy disk.

2. dr. nakamats believes that oxygen in high quantities is bad for the brain. thus, the amazing dr. nakamats submerges himself in water, letting his brain de-oxygenate, waiting for amazing ideas to bubble to the surface.

3. dr. nakamats has his own fan club and is considered to be one of the highest paid lecturers in the entire world.

4. that music you hear in the trailer above is certainly pieced together by none other than mark mothersbaugh of devo and the soundtracks of amazing films like the royal tenenbaums (157).  this is that sort of movie but dragged out of the mind of wes anderson and gently heaved in to the real world.

i could talk about this film for days.  but you should just go and read my absolutely glowing review of it over at mission loc@l. 

check it out HERE.