Review of A Poem Is a Naked Person

A POEM IS A NAKED PERSON IS A MASTERPIECE. So yeah, for a lot of us Les Blank fans we've been waiting a long time to see this one. And on July 9, 2015 a few of us got the chance to watch the San Francisco premiere (of its first official run) with living legend Leon Russell, not only there in person for post film talk, but he rolled in (literally) to his seat and watched the whole thing all the way through with us. Whoa! Y'see Leon Russell just came around recently and agreed to release the damn film (after 40 years) and as of that night, he's still not sure it was a good idea. Commenting toward Les' unmistakable style Leon remarked, "less of Jim Franklin's feet and more of George Jones' singing woulda been a good idea..." In Leon's defense, they probably are the ugliest feet featured in a motion picture. But that's besides the point. Les and his crew got to live on Russell's compound in Oklahoma for nearly 2 years and what they captured was not only Leon and a crazy revolving door of who's who in country and rock ca. 1972-3, but a plethora of LIFE just outside that door. Everyday life in and around nature and communities nearby. These images, "vignettes" or anecdotes shared here are mesmerizing, going against the traditional "rock doc". Yet mixed in with intimate concert & studio footage, the vibe is perfect and magically provides the music with ultimate power to bond the mundane or perhaps moments some of us may take for granted with the wildness of showbiz. This beautiful celluloid mix of Okie cultures, Nixon era hippie-ism, rock n roll AND THEN SOME creates a viable expression that's only partly about an artist and maybe more about his surroundings- both physical and cerebral. Which, for me, delivers a timeless trip not just about one artist, but where art and life are forever joined and celebrated with hardly any questions asked.