Crumb

One of the few really great contemporary American artists is an almost 30 year old cartoonist . Really. His name is Robert Crumb''. The year was 1969 and Öyvind Fahlström was taking the pulse of the ''Other America'', a simmering mixture of political radicalism and hippie utopia. Robert Crumb was the nerd who had been a spectator all his life. Sudden-ly he was becoming world famous for his audacious, grotesque and taboo-break-ing cartoons. He is perhaps best known for Fritz the Cat, though this is far from his best work. Crumb refused the big contacts and continued publishing in small obscure magazines. Terry Zwigoff's documentary about his friend Crumb has it's flaws - technically. But don't miss it! The technical flaws are more than compensated for by his in-depth look at Crumb. He is probably the only person that could have made so honest and personal a portrait. We get to meet mistresses (many) and wives (two), but above all his family. The father is an army officer, his mother is an amphetamine addicted housewife. Of the three deeply artistic Crumb brothers only Robert has survived. Take the scenes when he is sitting with his chronically depressed brother Charles. ''Madman'' Charles tells the truth, Robert laughs nervously. Their mother joins in. From the babbling emerges a picture of a totally sick American family. Robert Crumb's most frequently used cartoon character is called Robert Crumb. He uses him to release his own inner hang-ups and sexual fantasies. The film shows how close life and artistic expression can be. Those who have met Crumb can easily recognize him in the film: considerate, modest, candid at the same time self-conscious. And when it comes to women and sex, a bit of a lad. Zwigoff manages to subtly reveal the tragic abyss behind the man. His art is now exhibited at prestigious museums and he is called a late twentieth century Bruegel. He still refuses ''fame and bullshit''. But happily agrees when an ex-girlfriend, now the editor of a porn-mag, wants him to pose with a group of teenage girls. It may prove hard to swallow for the cultural elite. Öyvind Fahlström didn't let his opinion falter. His early, prophetic statements still hold true. DS