After the toxic fallout of the 60's love generation, this 1971 avant guard film captures the mood, confusion and questioning of life from a fractured generation; which is still relevant today. Look past Lloyd Kaufman's crazy Troma Studio persona..this is a very deep, intellectual, here. Kaufman plays a dual role as the director & 'Abacrombie' a geeky ineffectual man, in the post-hippies, early '70's America, his struggles with authority (eg. cops and his boss,played by Stanley Kaufman), trying to fit 'in'; trying to get out of his 'bag' & 'get in with the beautiful' & 'groovy' but never seeming to; as most of us in general have felt in our lives...he is chasing his dream girl (Lowry), who finally comes around, when it's too late. In the B&W documentary like scenes..hard questions are asked,to various characters; but we hear in the crew's background Kaufman (in the role of director) being chastised by the crew as a bumbling director, who lacks authority. One gets from from this movie (especially the climax)..the disillusionment & death of the flaccid "American dream", as personified by Kaufman's (the actor) nebbish character. I cannot think of any other way of understanding or 'getting' the message of what director/writer Kaufman is trying say cinematically, than this movie. It's relevant to any lost generation, out there, trying to adjust to the ever-changing, rapid 'culture shock' of the 21st Century. Whether you are a homey, jock, hipster, emo, suit or freak...this movie is a 'stone' American hidden filmic treasure...worth studying or being viewed more than once, whether watching 'straight' or 'turned on', Ma-a-a-an.
Review of The Battle of Love's Return
