THE WILD ONE
by Kathryn Loggins

Tessa Louise-Salomé, France 2022

Winner of the award for Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature at the Tribeca Festival, THE WILD ONE is the exploration of the artist Jack Garfein - a radical theater and film director, who dared to push beyond the conventions of Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s. He did not agree with censorship and was blacklisted in Hollywood for his defiant nature and challenge to authority. Born in Czechoslovakia as the Nazis were gaining power, Jack Garfein was only thirteen years old when he was deported to Auschwitz and ended up surviving eleven other Concentration Camps. From this experience, he learned grit, determination, and conviction and used these traits in his artistic endeavors as well.

THE WILD ONE makes use of extensive interviews with Jack Garfein and other Hollywood greats like Peter Bogdonovich (THE LAST PICTURE SHOW) and intercuts them with archival footage from places in Garfein’s past and images of the Holocaust. As Garfein’s story is told through these bleak images, William Dafoe narrates, and his tone is both empathic and reverent. When Garfein talks, he is brazening and vigorous, which makes him an utterly compelling storyteller. All the subjects are shot in what appears to be a giant dark abandoned warehouse where light dances around every corner and an antique motion picture camera seems to be constantly playing a never-ending reel of film. The rooms are smoky and stark and the images filter through the smoke and dust to project onto the walls somewhat distorted or out of focus. As we are introduced to each subject, they are shot from behind at first and start talking before you even see their faces. A technique that is utterly unique and bucks convention, just like Garfein did. Boris Levy, the cinematographer, along with director Tessa Louise-Salomé have created a truly unique and visually exhilarating exploration of the life of a man who overcame extreme hardships to continue to challenge and shape the film and theater industry in powerful ways. (KL)