Agile, Mobile, Hostile: a Year with Andre Williams
Tricia Todd & Eric Matthies:
Agile, Mobile, Hostile: a Year with Andre Williams (USA, 2008)
English
Andre Williams - The Black Godfather - is a 72-year-old R&B singer whose life is still full of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. He has written and recorded a number of landmark hit songs and has worked with legends of the industry: Berry Gordy, Ike Turner and Stevie Wonder to name just a few. However, unlike his colleagues, he has never won Grammys or sold millions of records. But this might be explained by his lyrics: not many artists gain success singing about bacon grease or the sweetness of young girls. Instead of performing concert hall shows Andre has struggled throughout his life with addiction, poverty, homelessness and the legal system.
Andre says, "I'm going to show you the right way, because I've gone so many wrong ways". With this statement the man known as "Mr. Rhythm" takes us along a fascinating, funny and distressing journey.
Andre doesn't always go "the right way" and this leads to tenuous relationships with friends, family and business partners, time in jail, eviction from his "old folks home" and subsequent struggle to pay for his room at the "Hotel 6" where he lives between tours.
>From March of 2006 until July of 2007, directors Tricia Todd and Eric Matthies followed the charismatic underground recording artist Andre Williams through his day-to-day existence. For Andre, this could mean rehearsing for a show in Chicago, recording with Jon Spencer in Michigan, performing for enthusiastic fans in Croatia, doing a radio interview in Serbia or marching in a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans. However, this also meant relapsing into drugs and ending up in the hospital on the verge of death. Williams did all this without losing his style and intense badass attitude.
Todd and Matthies' film, despite its rough story, is not grim or heavy. The documentary gets its strenght from Andre Williams' brash charisma and unending zest of life. Although the world has treated Williams harshly, the film does not awake feelings of pity. William knew what the future would hold when he made his decisions. In his own way he is satisfied with his stark everyday life - at least he has lived his life to the full.
Agile, Mobile, Hostile is a feature length documentary as told by Andre Williams with input from Jon Spencer, John Sinclair, Don Waller, Johnnie Bassett, Margaret Doll Rod and others. This documentary can be recommended to all music enthusiasts. A year with Andre will leave you feeling agile, mobile and hostile.
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TRICIA TODD & ERIC MATTHIES
Tricia Todd & Eric Matthies feature length directorial debut is â€Agile, Mobile, Hostile: A Year with Andre Williamsâ€. Currently they are in production with a feature length documentary addressing censorship. Their company, Project Lab, provides production support and resources to other documentary projects around the
globe.
