MiniReview: "Chris & Don" (film)

What is it?

A 2007 documentary by Italian filmmaker Guido Santi and American filmmaker Tina Mascara.

What’s it about?

The relationship between writer Christopher Isherwood and artist Don Bachardy, which began in 1952, when Isherwood was 48 and Bachardy was a mere 18.

Woops, that’s a bit of an age difference.

Yes, and it was too much for some of Isherwood’s close friends, apparently, who found it unseemly.

Is it unseemly?

Well, at first glance it’s certainly unusual. And their relationship definitely had its oddities, such as the fact that Bachardy began to speak with a British accent (which he still has at the time of the making of this documentary, twenty years after Isherwood’s death). One of Isherwood’s acquaintances who is quoted in the film says Isherwood somehow managed to clone himself into the body of a beautiful 18-year-old boy.  

But the relationship lasted?

Until Isherwood’s death from cancer in 1986. That’s 34 years. And judging from this documentary, it seems to have worked quite well. There is something of High Romanticism about their queer (in every sense) relationship. It’s interesting that their one artistic collaboration was a screenplay adaptation of Frankenstein. This relationship was larger than life. I must say, I found it very beautiful and moving, and queer in the best way. And what makes it really come to life is that they had a film camera, so there are lots of lovely colour sequences of the two of them going right back to the beginning of their relationship.

Stars?

One. This is a gorgeously watchable documentary about a relationship that could have been creepy but somehow was anything but. I just wish it was longer, because I felt there was way more to say (about the effects of their relationship on Isherwood's writing and Bachardy's visual art), or that certain themes might have been elaborated on (the phenomenon of same-sex relationships with massive age differences). But this is definitely one to see!