What Does Altman Mean To You?

In 2014, Ron Mann put out a documentary about the life of famous film director Robert Altman. And it was good.

That's as blunt as I can be without telling you to just watch the damn movie. Altman is an interesting experience. It's compelling like few documentaries can be because it has so much footage from the man himself just lying there waiting to be used. It captures a weird counter-culture nostalgia and attempts with some level of desperation to uncover the purpose behind each of Altman's films. And you can really see the trends.

It's so interesting to get this kind of perspective on one film director's life. Robert Altman was one of those strange cases... everything he did was intended to be contrary, and everything he did in one way or another managed to change the way people watched films. He was a trend setter and an artist, and this film exemplifies all of that. Altman gives us his highs and his lows and more or less allows us to understand what the man was really about at heart.