I enjoyed attending a special documentary screening that reveals a particular time and place where acclaimed artists and kindred spirits came together to pursue their work, party like beasts, and share a passion for Tarpon fishing. Directed by Scott Balew, All That Is Sacred is a film that is too long to be a short but is too short to be a feature. Balew’s documentary captures a moment when writers and a cult musician/singer met on the mythical island of Key West, Florida, became friends, and pursued the joy of life in its wildest iteration.
During the early 1970s, writers Thomas McGuane, Jim Harrison, Richard Brautigan, and Russell Chatham hung out with singer/songwriter Jimmy Buffett in the Bohemian scene of Key West to pursue a wild life of work, excess, and fishing. Through interviews and footage from a previous fishing documentary named Tarpon by filmmakers Guy de la Valdene and Christian Odasso, Balew takes the audience on a riveting and passionate journey through this scene and time.
The AFS (Austin Film Society) Cinema was buzzing with anticipation as a near-full house eagerly awaited this cinematic time capsule. The film, a revelation of the passions and souls of these extraordinary individuals and the island that once held them in its thrall, may not stand out stylistically. However, the personal stories and the beautifully restored footage of Tarpon make this documentary a truly captivating experience.