MY ARCHITECT - DVD review

Louis I. Kahn is remembered today as one of the most influential American architects of the 20th century, but he was no overnight success story. Kahn toiled in obscurity for the first twenty years of his career, and didn't experience his first brush with fame and success until he was nearly fifty years old in the 1950s. The next two decades, however, would be exceptionally rewarding to the Estonian Jew who immigrated to Philadelphia as a child. He designed buildings all across America, including the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas and the Yale University Art Gallery. Perhaps his most famous building was raised halfway across the world, the capital building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Kahn's designs were grandiose and utopian, not to mention controversial. Foes claimed he cared more for art (and his own ego) than for the people who would use his buildings. Regardless, several of Kahn's buildings are breathtaking to behold.

What a terrible irony then that, in 1974, Kahn would die of a heart attack in a dingy men's room in a building as depressing and drab as Penn Station. When Kahn died, he left behind his wife Esther and his only child, daughter Sue Ann. Or at least that's what the papers reported. An eleven year boy in Philadelphia knew better; to young Nathaniel, Louis Kahn wasn't just a famous architect, he was also his father.

It turns out that Louis I. Kahn was a man of many secrets. He actually had three families, all living within several miles and, apparently, aware of each other. How could this little man with a scarred face (from a childhood accident) and all the apparent sex appeal of Orville Redenbacher have young women swooning over him? He wasn't rich; in fact he died half a million dollars in debt. Thirty years later, writer/director Nathaniel Kahn, now 41, set out to solve this and other mysteries about his late father.

There's always something unreal about a parent dying. You know they're dead, but they were such an integral part of your life, such towering figures, that it just doesn't seem possible they could simply cease to exist. I remember after my mother died, I would still have to stop myself as I reached for the phone to call and ask her how long I should let the pasta cook. Even today, every now and then, I think I see my mother or father in a crowd just for a split second before I remember they're gone.

I think this sense of unreality informs much of "My Architect." Nathaniel crosses the globe, speaking to Lou's associates and visiting his buildings, ostensibly to gather information about him. Somewhere deep down, though, he's hoping that if he hangs around Lou's buildings long enough, just maybe he'll catch a glimpse of the little gray-haired man rushing off to his next meeting or eating his bag lunch in the courtyard.

Nathaniel interviews some interesting people along the way, most of whom gush about Lou's brilliance and magnetic personality. One of the highlights of the movie is an (all-too-brief) interview with the legendary I.M. Pei who speaks quite reverently about the late Mr. Kahn. The film threatens to degenerate into a hagiography, but then we meet Ed Bacon, Lou's arch-nemesis in Philadelphia. Bacon, still feisty as hell today, decries Lou Kahn as an irresponsible dreamer who didn't care about the community. According to Bacon, it's a good thing not a single one of Lou's designs ever made it to Center City Philadelphia because it would have been a disaster.

Of course, there's also the little issue of Lou's three families. Lou's first wife Esther worked to support him for twenty years while he struggled to establish his practice, and this is how he repays her devotion? Nathaniel struggles to understand this, speaking to Lou's friends and lovers. Most of Lou's friends were shocked to find out he had multiple families; a rabbi in Philadelphia even tries to out Nathaniel as an imposter before being convinced otherwise. Nathaniel's mother Harriet won't say a bad word about Lou; one look into Harriet's eyes and it's obvious that even thirty years later, she's still desperately in love with Louis Kahn. Lou's motivations remain impenetrable. He is knowable only by the extraordinary impact he had on the people he encountered.

Nowhere is that impact better felt than in Louis I. Kahn's buildings themselves, which provide the source for the most powerful shots in the documentary. Nathaniel holds for a long shot on the open courtyard of the Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA. The longer he holds, the more awe-inspiring the shot becomes.

It turns out only to be a teaser for the film's final offering, the extraordinary capital building in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The building dominates the city, and remains a source of pride and inspiration for the locals who pray near it every day. You can get just a vague sense of how amazing this building is from the DVD cover art.

In the capital building, Nathaniel speaks to architect Shamsul Wares. He tells Wares he only has a few minutes in the film to devote to the building. Wares just shakes his head and tells him it's all a waste; he can't possibly get to know the building as well as he needs to in such a short time.

The same is true of Louis I. Kahn, who remains as much an enigma by the end of the film as he was at the start. Nathaniel can never really get to know him, not in a two-hour film and not even in a lifetime. He hasn't found closure because there is no such thing. He never did see his dad peeking around the corner, but I think he's achieved a sense of peace with his memory. And, with "My Architect," he's found a way to keep Lou alive for many years to come.

It's easy to judge, but sometimes it's also easy not to judge. Nathaniel definitely takes it easy on his late father, refusing to speak ill of him for his philandering and his secretive ways. The film would probably have been stronger if we'd seen more evidence of the damage Lou's selfishness wrought. Still, it's Nathaniel's film and if he loves his father, that can't help but show in the final product. "My Architect" is a deeply felt and beautifully photographed journey that will speak to any viewer who has ever wanted to understand his or her father a little better.

Video:

The DVD is presented in its originally intended 1.33:1 aspect ratio. The documentary is quite beautifully filmed, and the transfer preserves the majesty of the more impressive architectural shots. The picture quality is crisp and the colors are sharp.

Audio:

The Audio is presented in Dolby Digital Stereo. The sound design is relatively simple, mostly interviews and some soft piano music. The dialogue is all clearly mixed and the subdued music is very effective without ever becoming too maudlin. Optional English-language closed captions support the audio.

Extras:

In addition to a trailer, there is a "Question and Answer" session with Nathaniel Kahn which comprises about twenty minutes over several shorter clips. Some of the clips feature historical footage of Louis Kahn. The package also includes a handsome booklet with glossy photos and a timeline of Lou's life.

Closing Thoughts:

Louis Kahn's capital building in Bangladesh has obviously had a substantial impact on the Muslim community. Many locals know him by name, even if they mistakenly call him "Louis Farrakhan." Would a Jewish architect still be hired today to design such an important building in a Muslim city? Regardless, it's an awesome sight.