Curt Worden documentary about Jack Kerouac's 1960 retreat to Lawrence Ferlinghetti's cabin in Big Sur Woods in an effort to escape the fame and celebrity that fell upon him after hi 1957 publishing success of On The Road. His plan to quit drinking and calm down was foiled by inner demons and alcohol delirium tremens that he wrote about in a free-flowing diary during his time at the cabin. Later published as Big Sur, often described as Kerouac's grittiest book, the first page begins...
THE CHURCH IS BLOWING a sad windblown "Kathleen" on the bells in the skid row slums as I wake up all woebegone and goopy, groaning from another drinking bout and groaning most of all because I'd ruined my "secret return" to San Francisco by getting silly drunk while hiding in the alleys with bums and then marching forth into North Beach to see everybody although Lorenz Monsanto and I'd exchanged huge letters outlining how I would sneak in quietly, call him on the phone using a code name like Adam Yulch or Lalagy Pulvertaft (also writers) and then he would secretly drive me to his cabin in the Big Sur woods where I would be alone and undisturbed for six weeks just chopping wood, drawing water, writing, sleeping, hiking, etc. etc.
The film reflects upon passages from the book and shows the beat haunt of San Francisco and New York frequented by the artists who knew him. Featured interviews with people such as Carolyn and John Cassady, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye, Sam Shepard, Joyce Johnson, Robert Hunter, and others add depth to this exploration of Jack Kerouac's brilliance and deterioriation.
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