Synopsis
Author Barry Gifford's gritty autobiographical stories of growing up in 1950s Chicago provide the backdrop for an impressionistic documentary portrait of a vanished time and place.
Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago
2020 Directed by Rob Christopher
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Really loved this film. I went in with very little knowledge of Barry Gifford beyond his film collaborations with David Lynch, and left wanting to read all of his stuff. As others have noted, 'Roy's World' operates in a similar space between reality and a sort of dreamworld to what you see in a Lynch film like 'Lost Highway.' But Rob Christopher does this by juxtaposing interviews with Gifford about his childhood and readings of Gifford's autobiographical Roy Stories (by Willem Dafoe, Lili Taylor, and Matt Dillon) with animation, archival footage of Chicago, and Gifford family pictures. What comes out of this mix feels like a City Symphony haunted by the memories and imagination of a great poet.
For anyone…
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Imagine a “city symphony” film about Chicago but one consisting entirely of archival footage and animation. Then imagine that footage accompanied by voice-over narration of some of America’s finest actors reading stories about mid-20th century Chicago written by one of America’s finest writers.
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One of the year's best documentaries! Can't wait to show this to so many people, even if they don't live in Chicago or know who Gifford is!
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"If the name Barry Gifford rings a bell to Cine-File readers, it’s likely for his contributions to what you might call 'David’s world': David Lynch, that is. Lynch’s WILD AT HEART (1990) was an adaptation of a Gifford novel, and they co-wrote LOST HIGHWAY (1997) together. Until I saw ROY'S WORLD: BARRY GIFFORD'S CHICAGO, a dreamy, immersive documentary by Cine-File contributor Rob Christopher, I was unfamiliar with his Roy stories, myself."
To read the rest of my review of ROY'S WORLD, a labor of love by our own Rob Christopher, please head to Cine-File and scroll down to "Additional Online Recommendations."
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pulls off a pretty impressive balancing act documenting a city, childhood, body of work, and time, while refreshingly resisting talking heads and linearity, and accomplishes the rare feat of utilizing animation in a doc in a way that further expresses what's being spoken rather than just illustrating it. doesn't hurt that it's jazzy af too
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A collage of archive film and photographs and animation overlaid by Barry Gifford's own recollections of his childhood, interspersed by readings from Gifford's stories featuring the (very) autobiographical Roy (as read by Willem Dafoe, Lili Taylor and Matt Dillon). The purpose of such films must be to make you want to know and read more about the subject. On that basis, it succeeds; it helps that Gifford is such an engaging and honest commentator. There are no references to his other work outside of Roy. However, as it was given to me as a Christmas gift, first up for me will be the Sailor and Lula novels.
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Stylistically unusual and engaging. One of the animated sequences is absolutely gorgeous!
Gifford is a contemporary voice from the noir past.
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This was lovely and atmospheric. I loved, at the end, seeing the photo of the Hollywood Theatre with the marquee Wild At Heart with Barry Gifford.
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I never knew that a documentary could be made into a noir but the proof is in Rob Christopher's new film Roy's World: Barry Gifford's Chicago. Loved this movie because it feels like a history lesson through a fantastic writer. Read my review: www.amovieguy.com/roy-s-world--barry-gifford-s-chicago.html
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One of those documentaries that are such a feast for the senses - I could listen to Willem Dafoe’s voice forever, and the selection of archival footage, animations and images of Chicago was so evocative - that it’s a pleasure to just sit there and let it all wash over you. I’d never heard of Barry Gifford before, but will definitely be checking out his work now.
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