 |
| Danny Darst stars in "American Songwriter" |
Director Michael Altman matter-of-factly states that Danny Darst resides in the same class as Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits. Seeing as Darst and Waits have both ricocheted back and forth between music and film (even starring together in "Short Cuts"), the Waits parallels are much more firm than those with Cohen. Nonetheless, I would have to agree. Unfortunately, most people simply have not heard of Danny Darst.
"American Songwriter" is at once both a long form music video and a biographical documentary. The film's mosaic structure tells a large story in tiny pieces; propelled at different times by a song lyric, a fire-lit performance, a stroll down Nashville's Broadway or an interview conducted from the passenger side of Darst's 1950s Oldsmobile. It is instantly clear that, fame or no fame, Darst is a legend. A guitar is the tap to his maple tree and stories just pour out of this man. His complete lack of attention grabbing only adds to his appeal. He is the Dos Equis man, except more interesting and with a wardrobe seemingly comprised completely of weathered denim. The sunglasses permanently fixed on his intransigent face make him appear imposing, only to have his occasional laugh completely disarm you.
