Thomas Pynchon, the enigmatic, reclusive author of V. and Gravity's Rainbow, is the subject of brothers Fosco and Donatello Dubini's curious documentary profile. Beginning with an attempt to retrace Pynchon's early years in the U.S. Navy and his work for Boeing on the Minutemen missile system, the film—in keeping with Pynchon's capacity for drawing lines of connection between visible and invisible realities—asks if the author's experiences in the Cold War as both a serviceman and weapons developer might not have dovetailed with secret operations, ranging from the military's experiments with hallucinogens on unsuspecting victims to classified experiments related to nuclear energy. Some Pynchon devotees featured here even wonder if the author's works aren't in some way an attempt at confession for involvement in questionable activities, while others maintain that his vanishing act of 40-odd years ago is nothing more than a case of extreme shyness. Featuring music by The Residents, Thomas Pynchon: A Journey Into the Mind of [p.] also draws upon a handful of interviews with those who knew the writer decades ago, and chronicles one journalist's efforts to snap a picture of Pynchon on the streets of New York. Sure to be of interest to the author's fans, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
Thomas Pynchon: A Journey Into the Mind of [p.]
(2001) 89 min. DVD: $24.99. Kultur International Films. ISBN: 978-0-7697-8783-1. Volume 24, Issue 2
Thomas Pynchon: A Journey Into the Mind of [p.]
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