My Architect: A Son's Journey

Nathaniel Kahn's Oscar-nominated personal documentary is a cinematic essay about his efforts to understand his late father Louis, one of America's most notable architects, who died--in debt and anonymously--in a Penn Station restroom in 1974. An enigmatic man with a difficult streak and a secretive side, Louis Kahn's professional life is explored through interviews with old colleagues and visits to the relatively few structures Kahn designed--the Salk Center in La Jolla, the Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth, the national capital building in Bangladesh--as well as examining plans for uncompleted projects. But while these segments are engaging, the personal material is even more fascinating, since Kahn lived not just a double but a triple life, having a wife and daughter and two mistresses--Nathaniel's mother and a fellow architect. Kahn's wife died before Nathaniel could interview her (she does appear in earlier clips), but he includes extensive, quite poignant conversations with the other two women, as well as comments from ex-students, a city planner who criticized Kahn's plans for downtown Philadelphia as impractical, and even cabbies who used to drive Kahn to his office. While the old man ultimately remains a fairly elusive figure, this filial journey of discovery is an emotional trip well worth taking. Recommended. [Note: DVD extras include 11 Q&A segments--without a “play all” option--featuring director Nathaniel Kahn (before an audience--and interspersed with bonus scenes--Kahn responds to queries: “Did Your Mother Like the Film?” “More About Dhaka,” and also “The Last Question,” featuring historical footage of the film's subject, late architect Louis Kahn), a weblink and trailers. Bottom line: a small but interesting extras package for a fine Oscar-nominated doc.] (F. Swietek)