Looking tired and older than his 52 years, Thelonius Monk was nearing the end of his touring days when he arrived in Paris at the close of a European swing in December ’69. This short but incredibly powerful film by Alain Gomis makes us of the rushes produced for a TV show prior to his concert. It’s deeply uncomfortable to watch. Host Henri Renaud, himself a respected jazz pianist, if a bit academic, is distracted by fussy technical concerns and unhappy with their strained interview. More than once, Monk looks like he’s about to bolt from the studio. The film has drawn attention to what the DOXA program describes as the “systemic racism and legacy of colonialism at play in the exchange", which is undoubtedly true, although Gomis seems more interested in producing a disorienting psychological picture of Monk, especially in the film’s exaggerated and unsettling sound mix or with its intense close-ups of the musician decoupled from the narrative. It’s like he’s dissociating, and so are we. At this point in his life, mental illness and heavy medication had taken their toll, and Monk seems more exhausted and bemused than offended. His refuge in music, the film suggests in a bravura climax, is total. As such, it’s unbelievably thrilling to watch him play under the blazing studio lights in crisp high-end video, and it’s fun to think Monk is maybe amusing himself when he patiently agrees to play one more number. His choice? Gershwin’s “Nice Work if You Can Get it”. Fans of the jazz legend will note that Monk is also filmed visiting a Parisian bar, where he’s no less taciturn and inscrutable. He takes his liquor straight, but with a chaser.

Stir, May 2022