Directors Fortnight: Todd Haynes screens ‘I’m Not There’

At his request, Todd Haynes’ film ‘I’m Not There’ was screened for audience members prior to his Masterclass discussion. Haynes directed this film in 2007 and it serves as an experimental, semi-biographical depiction of American singer Bob Dylan’s exploits. 

'I'm Not There’ pushes the boundary of conventional narrative by having six different actors of varying age, race, and gender portray the same character. Stars such as Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Heath Ledger, and Ben Whishaw all portray a version of Bob Dylan at some point in his life, going on adventures inspired (to some degree) by an event from Dylan’s life.

When discussing why he chose to show an 18 year old film at the 78th Festival de Cannes, Haynes stated that “(The film) had a great impact on me. I think obviously the political themes within the film have a different urgent kind of resonance in the world now. Of course, it’s also this story of an artistic sensibility, trying to navigate almost every aspect of the American psyche and American litany of genre and of the traditional past.” Haynes’ remarks show that despite being neary two decades old, the film's values still hold strong today.