A portrait of the great Texas bluesman, Lightnin' Hopkins. The film includes interviews and a performance by Hopkins.
Those not well-acquainted with the blues may be forgiven for not knowing Hopkins. But this short film will introduce you to the man: Rolling Stone magazine included Hopkins at number 71 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. That is respectable, if you consider just how many great guitarists are out there.
But what makes this film good is not even Hopkins, but his world. Without any sort of narrative or political angle, Blank turns his camera on the poor, mostly-Black neighborhood near Houston. This is an interesting commentary on race and class, not so much for its struggle... but just how happy most of these people seem. They have nothing, but the music makes them joyous.
Those not well-acquainted with the blues may be forgiven for not knowing Hopkins. But this short film will introduce you to the man: Rolling Stone magazine included Hopkins at number 71 on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. That is respectable, if you consider just how many great guitarists are out there.
But what makes this film good is not even Hopkins, but his world. Without any sort of narrative or political angle, Blank turns his camera on the poor, mostly-Black neighborhood near Houston. This is an interesting commentary on race and class, not so much for its struggle... but just how happy most of these people seem. They have nothing, but the music makes them joyous.