Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on August 2009

©2007 Educational Broadcasting Corporation and Clean Socks

Created over 11 years and playing more like a drifty film of devotion than a documentary, this movie hits on the ups and downs of the career of the beat poet, artist, political activist and godmother of punk, and touches on the personalities, from William S. Burroughs to Sam Shepard, that helped shape it. As usual with this type of thing, it will appeal more to those already familiar with Smith’s work, and is a bit too abstract for those not within her sway. Spends a bit too much time navel-gazing and not enough on concert footage, but this remains a fair, if not definitive, portrait of a remarkable person.