2003 was a great year for documentaries,* and "My Architect" is one of the best of them... and one of the saddest. It begins with obituaries for Estonian-born Philadelphia architect Louis J. Kahn (1901-1974) who was found dead in Penn Station with a passport in which the address was excised. The at-that-point still offscreen narrator, Nathaniel Kahn speaks with regret at looking for and not finding his name among the survivors. The only survivors officially listed were the widow (Esther) and her daughter, though Kahn had three (acknowledged) children with three different mothers. Nathaniel, the youngest and the only son, was only eleven at the time.

Nathaniel has a few memories of his father, who visited his mother's household about once a week when he was in the country, a few postcards from Indian and Bangladesh (where the elder Kahn had some of his biggest projects, including the capitol/government complex in Dhaka, Bangladesh), and a tiny book of crazy (outlandish?) boats.

Looking at the buildings his father designed, searching archives for some television interviews, talking to people who knew his father, Nathaniel attempts to learn more about the father he barely knew. That he had to resort to these means is saddening, and so is much that he learns/shares with viewers.

Louis Kahn said that unbuilt ideas of an architect are worthless. This is chilling in that most of his ideas were not built. A lot of projects fell through for various reasons, a prime one of which was his prickliness. Some did get built. With the exception of the Dhaka complex, most are too brutalist for my taste, though some consider the Salk Center in La Jolla, CA and the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth masterpieces. They seem very heavy to me, despite providing a lot of light, and the latter does not seem a good display space (it certainly calls attention to itself as architecture though).

Although Kahn is framed as a famous architect, I did not know his name before the documentary was made. It includes respectful, affectionate interviews with three architects whose name I do/did know: Philip Johnson, I. M. Pei, and Frank Gehry. They are not going to badmouth Nathaniel's father to him, though the first two mention his inability to suffer fools (clients) gladly--or at all. The interviews with some of Kahn's associates in South Asia are more insightful, along with some interviews of American associates of whom I'd never heard.

Nathaniel's mother, Harriet Patterson, appears only late in the film. Neither she nor the mother of the second daughter ever married. She insists that the limited relationship she had was worth it, and believes that Louis Kahn crossed out the address on his passport because he was finally going to move in with her and their son. Nathaniel does not believe this, but refuses to offer his own explanation when his mother asks him onscreen for one. I found this a very painful moment.

And, in addition to not being enthralled by the buildings that were built, I find the Artist who neglected not one, not two, but three families quite unsympathetic. The archival footage of him stalking across the University of Pennsylvania campus shows a short and ugly man who strikes me as very arrogant, too. He had lots of frustrations, including having only one major building in Philadelphia (the Richards Medical Building at Penn, actively disliked by those who work there) and no synagogues (he tried to get one built overlooking the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem), and the facial scarring (from a fire when he was three years of age), but however many people make excuses for him, I judge his treatment of the three women who bore his children deplorable, even if the two surviving women and the children are able to forgive him and take comfort in his accomplishments and the few memories they have.

The DVD includes eleven questions that Nathaniel answers, primarily to a screening audience, but with some additional interview footage, too (23 minutes total). My irritation at his refusing to answer his mother's demand for a counter-explanation is increased by his failure to answer the question what she thought of the finished film. (He says she was at the initial screening, that the question was asked, he pointed her out, she stood up, and received an ovation--but this does not answer the question!). There is also a theatrical trailer (two minutes).

I think the documentary of the architect is excellent and the account of the attempt to learn about an absent father (who died bankrupt and who, like Antonio Gaudi, was not recognized for several days) is very good, though frustrated and saddening. I think that it is good that Nathaniel finds a measure of peace, though this does not make me forgive how the workaholic Louis Kahn treated his family/ies and coworkers. Perhaps, if I were better convinced of the greatness of his building? But I think I would still find his mistreatment of his associates (not just those with whom he had sex or sired) reprehensible. And it would not take much to make me contend that the son is also insensitive toward some of those he used (filmed).


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* See my list of the best documentaries and miniseries of 2003 at http://www.epinions.com/content_5105950852.

This is a contribution to CaptainD's good movie writeoff. Happy Turkey Day (if you're a turkey and still standing... or have other reason to be giving thanks.)


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD