Father the Flame

You wouldn’t expect a documentary about pipemaking (i.e., pipes for smoking) to be a profound, circle-of-life statement about almost everything that matters, but Father the Flame—which begins in a misanthropic craftsman’s shack in Northern Michigan—slowly builds poetic and mystical resonance all the way to the stars above. Veteran cinematographer Chad Terpstra’s first feature documentary is the trip of a lifetime (and speaking of trips, neither the subject of nor the word "marijuana" ever comes up here). The starting point is Lee Erck, an aging loner whose distinctive, handmade pipe brand is known to aficionados the world over, with each of his creations costing four figures. Erck learned his trade from his father, a generational theme that runs throughout (spiritual practices involving pipes also loom large). Viewers meet master pipemakers—men and women in Denmark, France, Italy, and Japan who all learned from fathers, grandfathers, and other mentors, yet ultimately experimented with finding their own styles. A fascinating refrain involving everyone is the wood these creators use: hunks of briar that seem to speak to pipemakers in a secret language, yet often disappoint when flaws are revealed only during deep carving. Erck turns out to be an exception that proves the rule of immortality and legacy: with no wife or children, he visibly mourns having no one to carry on his life’s purpose. Terpstra brilliantly underscores the many connections between blood and master-apprentice relationships that turn the notion of "identity" into something larger than oneself. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)