Regular Price $24.98

Starring: Benjamin Dickerson,  Tim Campion,  Brian Halloran,  Coleman Lewis,  Bill Taft, 
Directed By: Jem Cohen,  Peter Sillen, 
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Release Date: 2000
Studio: Plexifilm
Format: Black & White,  Color,  Dolby,  DVD-Video,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about Benjamin Smoke

Description
Filmmakers Jem Cohen ("Fugazi:Instrument") and Peter Sillen ("Speed Racer: Welcome to World of Vic Chesnutt") made BENJAMIN SMOKE over the course of ten years. It follows the crooked path of "Benjamin" (no last name), an underground musician, speed-freak, occasional drag-queen, and all-around renegade living in the hidden Georgia neighborhood called "Cabbagetown," and playing in an indescribable band called Smoke. The film includes a special appearance by Patti Smith and photographs by Michael Ackerman.

Amazon.com
In life, the late Atlanta musician known as Benjamin (née Robert Dickerson) was a jumble of identities--singer, Patti Smith fan, drag queen, drug addict, and wry raconteur. The story of the 10 years before his 1999 death from complications due to HIV makes for an engrossing viewing experience for indie-minded film fans. Directors Jem Cohen (the Fugazi documentary Instrument) and Peter Sillen (Speed Racer) capture this eccentric figure in glimpses of 16mm and Super 8 as he philosophizes and performs with his bands, the Opal Foxx and, later, Smoke. The film's tone turns bleak as Benjamin's health begins to deteriorate, but his resilient nature, and a moving appearance by Smith that provides a coda for his life, brings a bittersweet finale in this fascinating portrait of a deep dreamer. Plexifilm's full-frame DVD includes an extra 40 minutes of outtakes and performances, including affecting covers of Benjamin's songs by musicians Cat Power and Vic Chestnutt. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews for Benjamin Smoke

Mesmerizing...
I was fortunate enough to be able to see this at the National Film Theatre when I was living in London. I was in a film class through University College London, and we had the chance to see about 5 of Jem Cohen's documentaries - and the best part was that Cohen was there too, and after the film he got up and spoke about them and took questions.

I had never heard of Benjamin Smoke before seeing this documentary, but have been intrigued by him ever since. The documentary is stunning in it's portrayal of Benjamin, and you really do get the sense that you've been taken somewhere else - a completely different realm - if only for a few minutes. I'm a freelance photographer and I cannot say how often the images from this documentary have run through my mind as I've tried to capture my own sense of "difference" in the world.

This is definitely a mood piece, and I'd say that it'd be best to watch it in a place where you can just focus on the film itself - let yourself be mesmerized by it...
Benjamin Smoke

rings
The last thing Benjamin'd want is for some sycophant to "justify" his life. Jem Cohen does as is his want in evoking the life of a true elysian navigator: pastels, washes, cinematic perfumes. Throughout it all Benjamin riffs; his grit betraying a lucidity that many choose to ignore.Benjamin Smoke

Gone but not forgotten
If this is your first exposure to Benjamin and the music of Smoke, you might find his openess and life unsettling, but given a chance this drug-gobbling, dress-wearing poet will take up residence in your soul. This film captures, probably as well as is possible, the amazingly unique man that was Benjamin. While the film shows us tragic times, it isn't a tragedy. Instead, it's the story of a brave--and strange-- heart, who just didn't fit into the "real" world. Our loss.Benjamin Smoke