Crumb

CRUMB is a stunning portrait of a man and his life, tracking Robert Crumb the underground cartoonist over four years of his life. We get a very unflattering view of Crumb, but he speaks for himself at large, and that gives him a sort of dignity that goes hand in hand with his odd lifestyle. He's a wiry looking guy, and his cartoons are just as odd, bulgy and crude and subversive. But I was never really drawn to Crumb the cartoonist as I was drawn to Crumb the family man or Crumb the individual. He holds some truly odd but individual views, believing he's never really been in love (although he's married). But it's a true feat of this documentary by Terry Zwigoff to see some really sad bits of Crumb's life, like his brother who, in childhood, was just as promising an artist as Robert, but now still lives with his mother and chronically medicates. That's why CRUMB is such an interesting film. I was personally not attracted to Crumb's art, but the way that he defends it is almost more worthwhile in itself.

out of Five