A Journey Into the Mind of P @ UCLA

[Dave Monroe]

A Swiss double

UCLA's "Contemporary Swiss Documentaries" presents
recent nonfiction films from Switzerland, a country
more often associated with the making of watches and
chocolate. Two double features this weekend complete
the series.

On Friday, Donatello and Fosco Dubini's 2001
documentary "Thomas Pynchon: A Journey Into the Mind
of P." attempts to unravel the mysteries of the
enigmatic author of "Gravity's Rainbow" and "Mason &
Dixon." Pynchon's novels have earned him a revered
position in American letters, but his reputation as a
recluse has certainly added to his aura.

The Dubinis take a postmodern tack with Pynchon that
is at times as elusive as the subject himself. As much
time is spent with speculative "webmasters" fixated
with everything Pynchonesque as with people who
actually knew the man. The film's bizarre quirkiness,
however, has its charm, and the eventual hunt for
photos and video of the publicity-shy writer
hysterically resembles the quest for Bigfoot. The film
screens with "Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: Facing Death"
(2002), Stefan Haupt's profile of the late researcher
and author whose work pioneered attitudes toward
mortality.

http://www.calendarlive.com/movies/cl-wk-screen11may11,0,5166845.story?coll=cl-movies

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