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Title:: Van Peebles makes another little film = that=20 could.
Authors:: Matthews, Nadine
Source:: New York Amsterdam News; 4/24/2008, = Vol. 99=20 Issue 18, p18-23, 2p
Document Type:: Article
Full Text Word = Count:: 1153
ISSN:: 0028-7121
Accession = Number:: 31885392
Database:: MasterFILE Select

Section: = ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT=20

Van Peebles makes another little film that = could

Who would you be if your toilet paper played = the "Star=20 Spangled Banner" and the back end of a '70s-era VW van were attached to = your=20 living room wall as if it had crashed through it? You would be = iconoclastic=20 director Melvin Van Peebles. What is certainly one of the freshest, most = original entries in this year's Tribeca Film Festival, "Confessions of a = Ex-Doofus Itchy Footed Mutha" comes from Van Peebles. Though it's been = touted as=20 semi-autobiographical, the director in a recent interview at his New = York=20 apartment indicated he has a bit of a problem with that description. = "There is a=20 difference," he says, "between autobiography and observation." = Determined,=20 albeit in a highly charismatic manner, to keep discussion away from the=20 over-simplicity of black and white, each of his answers was delivered in = one or=20 another shade of gray.

Melvin Van Peebles is a pioneer in the truest = sense of=20 the word. His most recognizable work, "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss = Song," was=20 credited with ushering in the era of "Blaxploitation" films. Van Peebles = wrote,=20 directed, produced and starred in that film. He also controlled its=20 distribution. SSBS was also significant, says Van Peebles, in that it = was the=20 first time that a soundtrack was used as "an ancillary way to get your = product=20 out there." One of Van Peebles' guiding principles in life is to use his = position and talents to "open up fields for people of color=E2=80=A6in = whatever form it=20 takes." He does so even to his own detriment.

When he became a celebrated filmmaker in = France, the=20 United States finally recognized and wanted him to work here as a = director.=20 Prior to going to France, his work had been routinely rejected. Now it = was Van=20 Peebles' turn to do the rejecting. Fearing that his working as a = director in the=20 U.S. would keep doors closed for other Blacks such as Ossie Davis and = Gordon=20 Parks who were trying to break through, he turned offers down. He has = also=20 created a graphic novel to accompany his new film in the hopes that it = will=20 broaden the playing field for all people of color in that realm as = well.

"Confessions" is a comedy about a man in = pursuit of a=20 dream. Inspired by the stirrings of his heart as a little boy, Little = Melvin=20 wants to travel to the end of the earth. He looks on in envy at the = "raggedy=20 boys" who travel with the itinerant blind blues men. He saves all the = money he=20 is given for movie tickets in order to pay for his future travels. He = doesn't go=20 to the movies. Instead, he steals away to the library where he becomes = engrossed=20 in the travel books.

His favorite song is "Love Me Some Highway." = At 14, he=20 reluctantly leaves his beloved mother to go to Mexico. Unfortunately, he = is=20 duped from the beginning of his voyage and ends up hanging on for dear = life to=20 an inner tube in the Hudson River. In New York, he finds love two times = over. He=20 falls in love with the city itself as well as with a woman he meets = there, Rita.=20 They live in a cozy little love nest where she bakes him cookies, they = have=20 great sex, and =E2=80=A2 their toilet paper plays a tune when unrolled. = He puts his=20 dreams on hold until heralded by his best friend. He abruptly leaves = town to=20 pursue his dream of seeing the "end of the earth." Inexplicably, he does = not=20 tell Rita goodbye.

During his travels to various exotic locales = as a=20 merchant marine, he encounters others who also dream of traveling to the = end of=20 the world. When he reasons that they are already there, they look at him = like he=20 is crazy. No, they admonish, the end of the world is "out there." The = lesson, of=20 course, is that everything is relative 'and that although your ideal = life lies=20 elsewhere, someone else's Shangri-la might be right where you're = standing.=20 Interestingly, the song "Love Me Some Highway" is played at various = points=20 during the film but is arranged differently each time. This was a = deliberate=20 stratagem on Van Peebles' part. He says, "=E2=80=A6it moves from = old-time to hip hop so=20 people can understand the evolution of where it came from =E2=80=94 of = these songs, of=20 how these things happen. You may not get it consciously, but = subliminally you=20 understand."

The character ends up learning that dreams and = what he=20 loves aren't necessarily the same thing. He realizes that although he is = fulfilling his dream, he was in fact happier when he was in New York = =E2=80=94 with=20 Rita. All of his traveling brings him back to where he started; like the = old=20 Luther Vandross song says, "There's nothing better than love." After 11 = years,=20 things back home have changed quite a bit. Rita, now a nun, still feels = the=20 sting of his betrayal and will not have him. Only slightly daunted, he = keeps=20 trying to convince her to take him back.

Van Peebles held on to complete control of = this film as=20 well. This means it was shot on a pretty tight budget, as most truly = independent=20 films are, so he was very creative in terms of casting and locations. = The style=20 can be disconcerting to those used to seeing only big-budget Hollywood = films but=20 the movie is still entertaining. The characters are engaging and the = plot is=20 sound. You really root for the main character, which is always a strong=20 indicator that you are watching a well-made film. The love story at its = center=20 is also charming.

For a travel film, it is lacking in terms of = location=20 shots =E2=80=94 but at its essence, travel is not what the film is about = in any case. It=20 is worth seeing because it is created by a maverick filmmaker committed = to the=20 idea of independent cinema. True independent films beg the artist to = exercise=20 creativity to exhaustion, which is what Van Peebles does here. It's also = worth=20 watching as Black cinema with a genuine hero who overcomes a series of = obstacles=20 by use of wits and humor, without devolving into buffoonery. It's a film = that=20 illustrates that with discipline and common sense we can all open up new = vistas=20 for ourselves and lead lives that by all accounts we were not meant to = lead.

Another of Van Peebles' little films that = could,=20 "Confessions of a Ex-Doofus Itchy Footed Mutha" challenges us to = challenge=20 ourselves.

The 2008 Tribeca Film Festival runs from April = 23=20 through May 4. For more information please visit http://www.tribecafilmfestiv= al.org/=20 or call (212) 941-2400. Also, keep reading Amsterdam News for further = coverage=20 of films and events featured in this year's festival.

PHOTO (COLOR): Scenes from "Confessions of a = Ex-Doofus=20 Itchy Footed Mutha"

~~~~~~~~

By Nadine Matthews, Special to the AmNews

Copyright of New York Amsterdam News is the = property=20 of Powell Savory Corporation and its content may not be copied or = emailed to=20 multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's = express=20 written permission. However, users may print, download, or email = articles for=20 individual use.

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