In the 1960’s, Ralph Arlyck moved to the Haight Ashbury district in San Francisco, far from his intellectual, yuppy parents on the East Coast. His small apartment sat beneath the apartment of the Farrell family, a family fully immersed in the ‘Free Love’ movement and hippie counter culture of the 1960’s. Their four year old son Sean Farrell, a precocious wild child akin to Max from Where The Wild Things Are, would wander with bare feet down to Arlyck’s apartment to chat. One day, as Sean sat on his worn couch in 1969, Arlyck turned his camera on and filmed their conversation. Among other things, four year old Sean admitted to ‘eating grass’ and talked about how he thought shoes were ‘creepy’.
This footage shocked the American people. A child aware of drugs? Living with his parents in a communal apartment with various vagabonds and drug addicts? It’s unnatural! It’s against nature!
Twenty odd years later, Ralph Arlyck decides to fly back to San Francisco and find the little boy who intrigued so many years ago.
Following Sean is not only a film about Sean, but about the people who survived the 1960’s. Arlyck revisits not only the Farrell family, but also his own. We are allowed a glimpse into his own childhood, so vastly different from Sean’s—growing up in suburbia with his vaguely leftist parents, wearing shoes, and having family dinners without a group of drug addicts present.
At times nostalgic, and at times tragic, Arlyck’s film is a discussion of change, in people and in the world; a demonstration of how the earth eternally spins on its axis and we are all challenged to cope with the ever changing seasons as well as our ever changing circumstances. Some of choose to move forward and adjust, some choose to remain steadfast in the past, hoping to freeze everything, and everyone, in time. But as Arlyck deftly illustrates, the latter is impossible. Change is inescapable.
this kid had probably seen more crazy shit than I will ever see in my entire life.
This documentary is BRILL.
I am really just bookmarking this for myself.
Posted 4 months ago 43 notes
Notes:
-
brbpbj liked this
-
rainbowbandit reblogged this from seriouslythough and added:
Weird I just watched it tonight. Brilliant? Meh. I enjoyed reading what people have to say about it tons more than...
-
sabrinamcgill liked this
-
noahkai reblogged this from leeshiebean
-
wrooney liked this
-
seaponies liked this
-
lafave liked this
-
neutralmilkinn reblogged this from seriouslythough and added:
molls:lauraenoughalready:herowhore: In the 1960’s, Ralph Arlyck moved to the Haight Ashbury district
-
agglesauce liked this
-
dontshushme reblogged this from herowhore and added:
Missed this when it was playing...Manhattan. Hoping it’s available
-
theallnewadventuresofme reblogged this from telllaurahushup and added:
herowhore In the 1960’s, Ralph Arlyck moved to the Haight Ashbury district in San Francisco, far from his intellectual,...
-
sourandsweet liked this
-
andtheyflew liked this
-
leeshiebean reblogged this from seriouslythough and added:
I need to see this.
-
jeninla liked this
-
seanmobrien reblogged this from herowhore and added:
I suggest you do so.
-
warmgun liked this
-
itsonlylife reblogged this from herowhore
-
rachelanastasia liked this
-
vodkaphonics liked this
-
boulevards liked this
-
-laurenm- liked this
-
eemcmillan liked this
-
hellorobinson liked this
-
worldwalk liked this
-
tjpytheas reblogged this from soupsoup
-
pearuhsaurus liked this
-
fuego liked this
-
notexactly liked this
-
electrichoney liked this
-
worldinupheaval liked this
-
iamjen liked this
-
est110590 liked this
-
chloegrrrace liked this
-
charlotteaddams liked this
-
soupsoup reblogged this from molls
-
abfabsolutely liked this
-
coketalk liked this
-
tinyxo liked this
-
janambm liked this
-
molls reblogged this from telllaurahushup and added:
This documentary is BRILL.
-
herowhore posted this