Eclipse 31 - 3 Films Jean-Pierre/Dvd, Criterion Collection, DVD

Filmmaker Jean-Pierre Gorin, widely known for his early-seventies collaborations (including TOUT VA BIEN) with Jean-Luc Godard in the Dziga Vertov Group, established his singular voice with this trio of accomplished, fascinating, and nontraditional documentaries, made in Southern California after his relocation there. POTO AND BABENGO (1978) is a compelling visit with two young San Diego twins who have invented their own language. In ROUTINE PLEASURES (1986), Gorin conjoins the story of a group of model train enthusiasts in Del Mar with a meditation on the work of critic and painter Manny Farber. And MY CRASY LIFE (1992) is an expectation-shredding exploration of a Samoan gang in Long Beach. With these three films, Gorin excavates hidden communities that are a part of everyday American life, and shows himself to be a major chronicler of what is eccentric and beautiful in our common culture.