Curt Worden's documentary creatively explores the period of Jack Kerouac's life leading up to and during his writing of Big Sur.
The film has a nice mix of narration (drawn from Kerouac's original novel), first-person accounts from those who knew Kerouac at the time, and commentary from artists and musicians inspired by the novelist.
One thing I appreciated was that, although there is a bit of hero-worship, the film itself didn't feel like it was forcing anything. It felt casual, relaxed. It felt like a bunch of friends chatting about the good ol' days.
I was especially impressed with the use of vintage photos and film from the time period mixed with contemporary footage of the same places (and, in some cases, people). It was neat to see the exact locations visited and described in the novel.
Familiarity with the book is highly recommended before watching this, but it can be enjoyed without a total line-by-line memory of the book. (I haven't read it in nearly fifteen years, so I only had a vague sketch of the text in my mind.)
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