Swimming to Cambodia (1987)
Bottomline: A straightforward documentary featuring a terrific storyteller telling a terrific story.
QMR Opinion: I'm embarrassed to say that I had never seen one of Spalding Gray's monologues until this one was recommended to me. I hate that it has taken me this long to watch this. As someone who likes to tell stories and is the son of one of best storytellers around and appreciates great storytellers (Keillor, Sedaris, etc.), I was enthralled from beginning to end. This is Gray's monologue about his adventures in Thailand during the filming of The Killing Fields (1984). There is an art to good storytelling and Gray is an artist -- the observations, the rhythm of the telling, the facial expressions -- everything draws you in and carries you forward until, suddenly, the story ends. Jonathan Demme is the director here and does a good job except he injects some music and other "effects" that take away from the power of Gray's storytelling. After battling depression for some time, Gray committed suicide in 2004.
