Crumb

An illuminating documentary, "Crumb" probes the origins and life of comics artist Robert Crumb circa the early 1990's. His two brothers and his mother are filmed. Each is broken in a different way. The viewer can immediately perceive why Crumb decided to retreat from them and find sanctuary in his own cherished reality of sketchbooks, early blues records, and admiration for full-figured women. Crumb is a unique man not opposed to drawing the occasional brutality or perversion into his art. But amidst the chaos of his mind emerges a singular artist who possesses a unique vision and admirable devotion to his craft.


An aside: my wife and I watched this the night before she went into labor. Afterward I felt bad about subjecting her to viewing "Crumb" - I had forgotten how heavy the subject matter was. As a word of advice to future fathers: when your partner's due date is near it's probably safest to stick to rom-coms.