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IMDbPro

One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur

  • 20082008
  • 1h 38m
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
85
YOUR RATING
One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur (2008)
DocumentaryMusic
Jack Kerouac escapes from post "On The Road" fame to his dream of an isolated retreat in a cabin at Big Sur, where he searches for inner peace. His road comes full circle with this self-expl... Read allJack Kerouac escapes from post "On The Road" fame to his dream of an isolated retreat in a cabin at Big Sur, where he searches for inner peace. His road comes full circle with this self-exploration, resulting in an alcohol-fueled paranoia and a plunge into madness.Jack Kerouac escapes from post "On The Road" fame to his dream of an isolated retreat in a cabin at Big Sur, where he searches for inner peace. His road comes full circle with this self-exploration, resulting in an alcohol-fueled paranoia and a plunge into madness.
IMDb RATING
8.0/10
85
YOUR RATING
    • Curt Worden
  • Stars
    • David Amram
    • Erik Bauersfeld
    • Carolyn Cassady
    • Curt Worden
  • Stars
    • David Amram
    • Erik Bauersfeld
    • Carolyn Cassady
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 2User reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
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    David Amram
    • Self
    Erik Bauersfeld
    Erik Bauersfeld
    • Self
    Carolyn Cassady
    • Self
    Jami Cassady
    • Self
    John Allen Cassady
    • Self
    Jay Farrar
    • Self
    Lawrence Ferlinghetti
    Lawrence Ferlinghetti
    • Self
    Sage Francis
    • Self
    Benjamin Gibbard
    Benjamin Gibbard
    • Self
    Dana Godbe
    • Self
    Herbert Gold
    • Self
    S.E. Hinton
    S.E. Hinton
    • Self
    Jack Hirschman
    • Self
    Robert Hunter
    Robert Hunter
    • Self
    Joyce Johnson
    • Self
    Lenny Kaye
    • Self
    Brenda Knight
    • Self
    Donal Logue
    Donal Logue
    • Self
      • Curt Worden
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    Storyline

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    User reviews2

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    Featured review
    7/10
    We have come to praise Jack, not to bury him.
    This documentary consists mainly of interviews with about thirty people. The focus is on Kerouac's book, "Big Sur," which he wrote in 1961, a few years after having spent time in the area. Several people read passages from the book. Not having read the book, I am not sure this movie has encouraged me to do so, since the passages seemed to be a stream-of-consciousness description of an alcoholic hell and nervous breakdown.

    The portrait of Kerouac that emerges is that of an anguished, self-centered, confused man and one who would be difficult to be around. You would have to have a large reservoir of tolerance and forgiveness to put up with him I think. And that is what everyone interviewed here seems to have, since there is nothing expressed about Kerouac but warmth, admiration, and sympathy for his suffering. Most people flee an alcoholic spouting stream-of-consciousness thoughts that are hard to decipher, so, Kerouac the man must have had real charisma, an appeal that has persisted all these years within a subculture of followers.

    The ideas of the beat generation of writers and poets--drugs, sex, freedom, anti-materialism, eastern religion--laid the groundwork for much of what was to come. No matter what you think of the players, you have to acknowledge their influence, but seeing this movie made me question just how much longer the romantic image of the beat writers can be milked. Only a few of the progenitors are left--Kerouac, Burroughs, Ginsberg, Cassady are gone. The two people in this film who knew Kerouac well, Casssdy's wife and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, provide some interesting observations and it was interesting to hear from a couple of Cassady's kids recalling some of their experiences (I liked Jami Cassady's comment that she did not much care for Ginsberg, and the hyperkinetic ramblings of John Cassady on the DVD extras indicate that he inherited some of his father's frenetic energy). However, overall I came away feeling that the people were talking of a distant time, a distance place. In an age of smart phones, Xboxs, monster TVs, video on demand, Wiis, Facebook, YouTube, air conditioned cars, superhighways, and so forth, I wonder if reading "On the Road" now has any of the staccato punch it did on first publication, inspiring young people in the way it once did.

    The movie is nicely filmed with high production values. Interweaving the readings and interviews with images of the beautiful Big Sur area is skillfully done. If I ever do get around to reading "Big Sur," this film will have provided me with ample backstory. And I would probably learn more about Kerouac than I did from this movie.
    helpful•6
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    • bandw
    • Aug 24, 2010

    Details

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    • Release date
      • April 2008 (United States)
      • United States
      • Official site
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Production company
      • Kerouac Films
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    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 38 minutes
      • Color

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