"I want to write a little play for children, the theme: murder." Haunting words in any context, particularly so in the case of filmmaker Martha Swetzoff. The sentence was penned by her father who was himself beaten by an unknown assailant in his apartment on May 21, 1968. After futilely banging on neighbors' doors for help, Swetzoff, a noted Boston art gallery dealer, returned to his apartment where he died. Martha was nine years old. She made her first film about her father's death, The Garden, in 1979 when she was nineteen years old; Theme: Murder continues her obsessive quest for closure (and I use the word "obsessive" here in its pure non-judgmental form; having lost my own father at the age of seven to a known killer--cancer--I'm familiar with the difficulty an adult faces when trying to redefine him or herself in relation to a parent who isn't there for the comparison. In Swetzoff's case, the problem is compounded by the horrifying nature of her loss.) Speaking with her mother, brother and friends of her father, Swetzoff's journey not only uncovers anecdotes about her father's literary endeavors, dealings with noted artists, and farflung travels to faraway lands such as Greece (where, unbeknownst to Martha, he owned another home), but also the fact that her father led a secret bisexual life. In fact, there is a strong suggestion that Hyman Swetzoff's death may well have been a crime of passion, and the subsequent deaf ears of the neighbors and foot-dragging of the local authorities the result of deep prejudice. Ostensibly a tribute to her father, Theme: Murder is really more about the filmmaker. No fact offered about Hyman Swetzoff's daily hobnobbing with artists is of equal interest to, say, the acknowledgment that the only picture in existence of the young Martha resting in her father's arms resides not on the filmmaker's mantelpiece but in the Smithsonian. Unfortunately, even with interesting side trips to the "unsolved cases" department of the local authorities and an interview with author James Ellroy (whose mother was murdered), this is essentially a personal story which--I think--struck a chord within me for personal reasons. Its wider usefulness in academic settings is questionable. A strong optional purchase. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)
Theme: Murder
(1998) 54 min. $150: public libraries & high schools; $275: colleges & universities. Study guide included. New Day Films. PPR. Color cover. Vol. 14, Issue 2
Theme: Murder
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