SIN-E-FILE (Cassavetes and Ventura)

"I have the sin of the Cinephile" - Jean Luc Godard

Michael Ventura has written the ultimate book on the working life of John Cassavetes. I literally had to pace myself reading it. I wanted to savor it. I felt like I was on the set. It’s called Cassavetes Directs: John Cassavetes and the making of Love Streams. I am perplexed why no one is talking about this book. It’s been sitting around for 25 years waiting to get published. Now we have it. It’s a goldmine. What’s up with the film world?

It is an actual day by day, almost shot for shot, account of the making of what I think is Cassavetes best film. And it is filled with so many inspiration, hilarious and entertaining moments that, if you are a Cassavetes fan, you will jump up and down with excitement. And if you are not, you will want to look into his work immediately.

I contacted Mr. Ventura and requested an interview. He agreed, so I’d like to have something in the way of an article or an expanded review with an accompanied interview soon.

Ventura made a documentary on the making of Love Streams as well; I’m Almost Not Crazy. That’s been around for a while, the trouble is it’s hard to find. It’s at Kim’s video (who knows how much longer, Kim’s is moving or closing, I don’t know which. It’s confusing) on VHS. Just watched it the other day for the first time. Ventura’s book is so engaging that, when I was reading a description of a certain moment from the set, I’d have a detailed image in my mind of how the “scene” played out and I’d get so envious that I couldn’t be there to see it myself. Well I didn’t realize that some of these moments he describes so beautifully in the book were actually captured on film for the documentary. As I was watching them, (I never had this feeling before) I felt like my dreams were being brought to life. Like I was actually seeing something that I thought could never be seen because I wasn’t there. But here they were, these moments that I thought would only exist in my imagination. These were moments that maybe other readers wouldn’t have the same reaction to, but true fans of Cassavetes might really be in awe over them. And for all the other amazing, crazy and inspiring moments that the camera didn’t capture, Michael Ventura, with his way with words, gives us the gift of being able to place us right there, on the set.

The book also does an even greater service for John Cassavetes. It puts to bed any theories that say he haphazardly put his films together; that they have no structure, no cohesiveness; that he doesn’t direct the pictures. Ventura’s title says it. Cassavetes directs. And it is fascinating to see how he does it.

-Peter Rinaldi