Yesterday, we mentioned Joyce Johnson’s book (on Jack Kerouac’s Franco-American roots), and last week we had earnest French (documentary film) seekers, and this week, here’s another French documentary, courtesy the National Film Board of Canada – Jack Kerouac’s Road – A Franco-American Odyssey.
“Part documentary, part drama, this film presents the life and work of Jack Kerouac, An America writer with Québec roots who became one of the most important spokesmen for his generation. Intercut with archival footage, photographs, interviews and a careful reconstruction of the period, this film takes apart the heroic myth and even returns to the childhood of the author whose life and work contributed greatly to the cultural, sexual and social revolution of the 1960s..”
Herménégilde Chiasson‘s 1989 film can be accessed here.
To read, on Kerouac Franco-American roots : "Jack Kerouac : a chicken-essay" by Victor-Levy Beaulieu, translated from french-canadian.
http://www.bibliopolis.com/main/books/1044548.html
Joyce Johnson says in Minor Characters that her favorite book on Kerouac is that one from a "surrealist poet" from Québec. Beaulieu is not surealist, neither even a poet, but that is great read for sure.