Be Here to Love Me
In a 2005 interview with Under the Radar, Margaret Brown explained her approach to telling the story of Townes van Zandt: "I think a lot of my producers were worried that the film would be really elliptical and not a normal kind of music doc and it wouldn't be received well. One of my producers, at Toronto when it opened, he gave me this whole speech beforehand about how I had to explain the film to the audience or they weren't gonna be able to follow it. It seems like everyone kind of goes with it and they feel like they're falling into it and they like it. But maybe people didn't tell me because they know I'm the filmmaker and I might be fragile. I have no idea. I wanted the film to feel like a tapestry. Like the way you meet somebody, you don't hear about their birth and end with their death... I wanted the film to feel like if you went on 10 dates with Townes and you were gradually revealed certain things. Sometimes it may be in order chronologically, but other times, the way things build on each other is not chronological. People don't think that way. Why should films be structured that way?",Townes van Zandt: Breaking even is ending up in Purgatory as far as I can tell. I figure there's heaven, purgatory, hell and the blues. I'm trying to crawl up from the blues, purgatory for me would be... Home Sweet Home!,Features Heartworn Highways (1976),Rake
Written by Townes van Zandt
Performed by Townes van Zandt
Courtesy of Tomato Records
Copywright: BUG,Margaret Brown's story of Singer and Songwriter Townes Van Zandt is a wonderful tribute and heartfelt autobiography. In her own retro film style, I felt like I was part of the story of a struggling Musician trying to make it in a world that cared more about the record deal than the songs they produced. Van Zandt stuck to his guns and never sold out and recorded some of finest lyrics and haunting acoustical guitar work anyone has ever heard. The interviews really take you inside this guy's life - head and soul... and raw footage of Townes is aplenty in this film. One comment that will stay with myself forever was a interview with a Tour Manager whom stated: "He was moving up the Concert Tour Circuit... almost to a Motor Coach, YEA, he was ready to go! Van Zandt could care less about so-called fame, and just wrote and played what he felt. And this film sends the message to do whats in your heart, even if it kills ya at a young age. For any Artist, a 'Must See Documentary Film!

John Vizzusi, Behind the Indie Camera / Florida Film Monthly,