Remember
how James Garner and Mariette Hartley used to explain how there was “a little
piece of the sun” in each Polaroid camera? Elsa Dorfman was using an unusually
large piece. For years, she was one of a handful of artists using a limited
large format 20x24 Polaroid camera. She was usually relegated to the lower
ranks of galleriable photographers, even among Polaroid artists. However, just
as her critical stock started to rise, Polaroid discontinued its film
production. The now retired artist takes stock of her life and work with her
friend and documentarian Errol Morris in The
B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography, which screens during the 54th New York Film Festival.
Dorfman
came and went from New York fairly quickly, but she was around long enough to
witness several salvos in the culture wars working for Barney Rosset at Grove
Press. Through her colleagues’ literary publishing circles, she befriended
several of the Beats, including lifelong friend and frequent model Allan
Ginsburg. Initially, photography was almost thrust upon her, but she found she
had an aesthetic affinity for Polaroid film. With her large format camera, she
specialized in full-body portraiture. Many famous people and average everymen
sat for her, but some of her favorite shots are the quirkily revealing rejects—her
so-called “B-Sides.”
It
is rather pleasant spending seventy-some minutes with Dorfman and the concerns
she expresses regarding the disposal of her archive for posterity (evidently a
problem many just-famous-enough photographers her age share) gives one pause.
However, this just does not feel like an Errol Morris documentary. It is not
because of the relatively upbeat tone. Fast,
Cheap, and Out of Control is a wonderfully charming film, but it clearly
bears his stamp as a doc auteur. Frankly, B-Side
could have been made by any competent filmmaker with a camera.
One
could argue that as an old customer and pal, Morris put Dorfman at ease and
encouraged her to speak freely. That’s fair enough as far as it goes. Still, as
nice as it is, the final product is undeniable on the slight side of the
spectrum of cinematic significance. Most viewers can safely wait until PBS
broadcasts it or Fandor (or someone else) streams it. For diehard Morris and
Dorfman fans, The B-Sides screens October
9th, 10th, 12th, and 16th as part
of this year’s NYFF.
