Few are lucky enough to find the one thing that makes them
happy, the one thing in the world that makes you whole, that fills in the
blanks. It’s a rarity to know that one driving force that gets you out of bed
in the morning with gleeful exuberance. What that one thing is varies. For some
it could be the love of the fabled soul mate. For others it could be painting,
writing, riding horses or driving a motorcycle. For Bill Cunningham it’s the
people and fashions of New York.
Bill Cunningham is a photographer for the New York Times and
the subject of the 2010 documentary “Bill Cunningham New York.” Cunningham is
an 83 year-old veteran of the fashion scene in New York City. He’s quirky and
independent and one hundred percent devoted to his life’s passion.
The film explores Cunningham’s life and daily schedule as he
rides his bicycle through the busy streets of the Big Apple. Clad in a modest
blue workman’s smock, Cunningham spots the secret trends of the fashion world
and highlights the brilliant creativity in the individuals walking through
through the skyscraper framed streets of the bustling city. His shots are
compiled and combined with a column on the trends in the city. It’s a process
that starts for him at the break of dawn and carries him through to the
midnight hour and beyond.
For those like myself who can hardly match my socks this
obsession with fashion can seem bewildering. But the film is careful to
illustrate the importance the subject holds to Cunningham and his peers.
Cunningham explains why he thinks fashion is so important and whether you agree
with him or not, you can tell he believes it. What’s more, countless peers of
Cunningham come forward to praise his work and his keen eye for the next big
thing. The film records his adoring fans and builds Cunningham into a pillar in
his community.
Meanwhile, Cunningham himself remains humble and grateful. Not
grateful for the praise he receives, but grateful he can be doing what drives
him to a sense of completeness. His passion shows in his work and his relations
with his contemporaries and colleagues. His humility presents himself from his
near-impoverished home to his insistence that he’s not a great photographer at
all. Cunningham claims he doesn’t really think he’s an artist, he’s an
observer, a chronicler of the city that never sleeps.
The film does what few documentaries do. It gets out of it’s
own way and lets its subject tell his own story. It lets us form our own
opinions about the fashion industry and the strange cast of characters in Cunningham’s
life. “Bill Cunningham New York” does not preach about the grandeur of the man.
It shows us through interviews and candid scenes of Cunningham in action.
Rather than trying to make a grand statement about some social situation or
cultural icon, the film simply introduces us to a charming and peculiar man.
He’s a man I’d love to work with. There are scenes with him
working with the layout designer for the New York Times that actually made me
wish I was in the chair behind the computer in the designer’s place. It’s rare
to find that one thing that fills your world with purpose, I think it’s rarer
to be able to work with someone that has such completion and drive.
I really enjoyed the documentary not because of a subject
matter that I could identify with, nor a gripping twist of events or social
significance. I enjoyed the film because I enjoyed Cunningham. He’s an adorable
and fascinating man, icon and artist. Though he’d never admit to it.
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3 and a half cameras out of five
Bill Cunningham New York (2010)
Director: Richard Press
Starring: Bill Cunningham
Runtime: 84 minutes
Not Rated
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