My Architect (2003)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Nathaniel Kahn

Writer:

Nathaniel Kahn (writer)

Release Date:

12 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Tagline:

The secret life of architectural genius Louis Kahn

Plot:

Director Nathaniel Kahn searches to understand his father, noted architect Louis Kahn, who died bankrupt and alone in 1974.

Plot Keywords:

Architect | Son | Dakar Senegal | Illegitimate Son | Workaholic

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 6 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Edmund Bacon	...	Himself
Edwina Pattison Daniels	...	Aunt Eddie
Balkrishna Doshi	...	Himself (as B.V. Doshi)
Frank O. Gehry	...	Himself
Philip Johnson	...	Himself
Louis Kahn	...	Himself (archive footage)
Nathaniel Kahn	...	Himself
Sue Ann Kahn	...	Herself
Haym Richard Katz	...	Richard Katz
Teddy Kollek	...	Himself
Harriet Pattison	...	Herself
Priscilla Pattison	...	Aunt Posie
I.M. Pei	...	Himself
Moshe Safdie	...	Himself
Robert A.M. Stern	...	Himself
Alexandra Tyng	...	Herself
Anne Tyng	...	Herself
Shamsul Wares	...	Himself

Runtime:

USA:116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:PG | Netherlands:AL | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Mt. Desert Island, Maine, USA

Company:

Louis Kahn Project Inc.

Quotes:

Louis Kahn: How accidental our existences are, really, and how full of influence by circumstance.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 2004 IFP/West Independent Spirit Awards (2004) (TV)

Son of an Architect

My Architect is a great film about Nathaniel Kahn's search for himself via the legacy of his famous Architect father, Louis Kahn, dead since 1974. The film builds slowly, but perfectly, and what starts out as a seemingly lost fortysomething's identity crisis unfolds into a beautiful tale with much deeper meaning with regard to the importance of love, loss, family and perhaps more importantly, our life's work.

I had never heard of Louis Kahn prior to this film, although I was vaguely familiar with some of his work. Through the words (both good and bad) of Louis Kahn's colleagues, you get a very good sense of what Nathaniel must have felt as memories are recalled and stories retold. Sometimes it seemed as though these people were telling Nathaniel how to feel about his father. As I listened to each recollection, my own opinion of this man would range from beautiful to horrible, sometimes in the span of a moment, so you get a good feel for the rollercoaster that Nathaniel's emotions must have been riding.

The final sequence in Bangladesh totally made the film for me. The reverence of which the people of Bangladesh spoke of Louis Kahn's work tied all the loose ends together nicely for me, and, hopefully, for Nathaniel.

I think Nathaniel Kahn finally found what he was looking for.