Chris & Don. A Love Story (2007)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Directors:

Tina Mascara
Guido Santi

Release Date:

13 June 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Romance

Tagline:

No one believed they could last so long...

Plot:

The love story between British writer, Christopher Isherwood (whose book 'The Berlin Stories' inspired the musical and film Cabaret) and Don Bachardy, American portrait artist.

Plot Keywords:

Painting | Portrait | Art | Writer | Love

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

W.H. Auden	...	Himself (archive footage)
Don Bachardy	...	Himself - Narrator (voice)
Ted Bachardy	...	Himself
James Berg	...	Himself (as Jim Berg)
John Boorman	...	Himself
Paul Bowles	...	Himself (archive footage)
Katherine Bucknell	...	Herself
Leslie Caron	...	Herself
Eduardo Correia	...	Ahmed
E.M. Forster	...	Himself (archive footage)
Chris Freman	...	Himself
Charlie Gordon	...	First Dinner Guest
Kenneth Grimes	...	Paul Bowles (as Ken Grimes)
Sara S. Hodson	...	Herself
Evelyn Hooker	...	Herself (archive footage)
Aldous Huxley	...	Himself (archive footage)
Christopher Isherwood	...	Himself (archive footage)
Dan Kael	...	Model
Matt Kelling	...	Ted Bachardy
Burt Lancaster	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jack Larson	...	Himself
Herbert Lom	...	Himself
Anna Magnani	...	Herself (archive footage)
Mike Makepeace	...	Model
James Malloy	...	Second Dinner Guest (as Jim Malloy)
W. Somerset Maugham	...	Himself (archive footage)
Liza Minnelli	...	Herself
Christopher Murray	...	Himself
Michael Norwood	...	Don Bachardy
Marisa Pavan	...	Herself
Swami Prabhavananda	...	Himself (archive footage)
Shayn Scott	...	Christopher Isherwood
Dodie Smith	...	Herself (archive footage)
Igor Stravinsky	...	Himself (archive footage)
Gloria Stuart	...	Herself
James White	...	Himself (as James P. White)
Tennessee Williams	...	Himself (archive footage)
Stefan Wills	...	Model
Michael York	...	Himself - Narrator

Directed by
Tina Mascara
Guido Santi

Produced by
Julia Alexander	....	producer (as Julia Scott)
Martina Battistich	....	associate producer
Andrew Herwitz	....	executive producer
Signe Johnson	....	associate producer
Tina Mascara	....	producer
Guido Santi	....	producer
James White	....	executive producer (as James P. White)
James White	....	producer (as James P. White)

Original Music by
Miriam Cutler

Cinematography by
Ralph Q. Smith		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Tina Mascara
Guido Santi

Production Design by
Francisco Stohr

Art Direction by
Carlos Hurtado

Makeup Department
Natalie Thimm	....	makeup artist

Art Department
Christopher C. Jones	....	graphic artist: title
Francisco Stohr	....	set designer (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jonathan Amador	....	adr mixer: Mr. York (as Jon Amador)
Andy Hay	....	sound re-recording mixer
Andy Hay	....	supervising sound editor
Tom Lopez	....	location sound: Tangier
Cynthia Merrill	....	foley artist
Andy Hay	....	sound designer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Rodney Ascher	....	visual effects artist: photo sequences

Camera and Electrical Department
Tijah Bumgarner	....	second assistant camera
Kenneth Grimes	....	gaffer (as Ken Grimes)
Christopher Hackman	....	camera operator
Carlos Hurtado	....	still photographer
James Malloy	....	first assistant camera (as Jim Malloy)
James Malloy	....	still photographer (as Jim Malloy)
John Parkan	....	camera operator
Gerald Saldo	....	provider: grip and lighting equipment, Bayside Pictures
Keith L. Smith	....	camera operator (as Keith Smith)
Peter Ventrella	....	camera operator

Animation Department
Katrina Swanger	....	animator
Kristina Swanger	....	animator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Signe Johnson	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Brian Borne	....	digital color corrector
Wade Felker	....	colorist: dailies
Randy Magalski	....	on-line editor
Bob Williamson	....	on-line editor

Music Department
Charlie Adelphia	....	musician: woodwinds
Nick Ariondo	....	music: accordion
Max Baxter	....	musician: saxophones
Pasa Doble	....	musician: strings
Desha Dunnahoe	....	music preparation
Louis Durra	....	musician: piano
Hollis Fisher	....	musician: trombone and tuba
Ira Ingber	....	music pre-mix engineer
Ira Ingber	....	musician: electric and acoustic guitars
Jerry Kalaf	....	musician: drums
Carl Sealove	....	musician: electric and acoustic bass
Lee Thornburg	....	musician: trumpet and fugelhorn
Larry Tuttle	....	musician: acoustic bass
Wenger Yussi	....	musician: nylon jazz guitars (as Yussi)

Other crew
Martina Battistich	....	web site designer
Sarah Bishop	....	account executive
Nathalie Canessa-White	....	production assistant (as Nathalie Canessa)
Michael Donaldson	....	clearance attorney
Nadia Kibout	....	production assistant
Elias Savada	....	copyright researcher: Motion Picture Information Service
Michelle Trentham	....	account manager
Brian Turnauer	....	legal consultant
Jules White	....	web site designer

Production Companies

• Asphalt Stars Productions

Distributors

• Zeitgeist Films (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Zeitgeist Video (2008) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Bayside Pictures  grip and lighting equipment
• COC  adr recording facility: Mr.York
• Motion Picture Information Services  copyright research (as Motion Picture Information Service)
• New Post Group, The  post-production facilities
• Quincy Pics  title design (as Quincypics)
• Soundtrack  trailer
• Spank Machine  post-production sound services
• Switch Studios  sound mixing facility

Runtime:

USA:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

Asphalt Stars Productions

Movie Connections:

Features Cabaret (1972)

I was wrong about this one

This documentary covers a lot of ground: sexuality, aging, death, spirituality, art, literature, war, celebrity, alternative life styles, tragedy, mental health, drug use…and love. Pure and simple love.

Now I went to this movie reluctantly. The subject matter of the lives of the famous has worn—if not all of us—me down with the 24 hour news cycle. Christopher Isherwood's literary contributions were more a bridge than, say, the works of W.H. Auden which stand alone in any age. To unveil, posthumously, his private life examining the testament of his living lover, I was braced for something like testimony contesting Rock Hudson's estate.

But, I was very wrong.

Whether you can sit and hear the word "queer" and flinch or not (in any of its incantations either pejorative or defiance), it quickly doesn't matter. There is such a wealth of first hand material (photos, film footage, paintings, drawings, interviews) we don't have time to judge (as I was prepared to do) the age difference of the two subjects or their lifestyles.

Whatever the staying power of Isherwood's written words, his legacy as a gentle human being is forever preserved in this film. And whether or not Don Bachardy was "abused" by an older man or not, we're so dazzled—as the young Bachardy must have been—by the world he's invited into with Isherwood, we don't have time to sit in judgment of anyone. And that's a good thing, because at the end of the day, and at the end of this film—as at the end of these people's lives—it's for them to say whether their story was one of fulfilled love or something pathological. And what is revealed here by both the diaries of Christopher Isherwood and the loving testimony of his partner cannot be denied.

I had some quibbles with the choices made by the filmmakers, however. The use of animation seems like unnecessary padding. Only once (during a rough period in the relationship) is it well used, and the score is patchy. When jazz from the period is used it matches what we see on screen; but the original music seems generic. My biggest objection was using actors to stage some crucial events. There is such a wealth of archival footage that I began to doubt which was real and what was staged. I think using actors sells everyone--including the audience--short. What the principals have to say is so powerful, we didn't need what has become an almost obligatory trend in documentary films.

The interviews are all carefully chosen and never intrude into anything we'd call inappropriate or salacious. And the central character here, Don Bacarady, is allowed the freedom to say what he wants (most of it very funny) and he holds little back.

It's a great love story, and it's told at a time when our Country is considering whether or not it should sanction same sex marriage. Well, there's nothing here that would point towards not doing that. Yet no one on the screen has an agenda or an ax to grind. I think it was during an interview with Leslie Caron when she remembers something Isherwood says—he delays his death because "Don isn't ready"—that I realized this was no ordinary love story, it was a true love story. And it's heartbreaking and a mind-opener. Go see it.