87 Topaz (2004) Online

This is a sweet little film that a grandson made about his grandfather after his death. The old man's life is recounted through his correspondence--which, oddly, always seems to be about cars. Perhaps this was done to show how the man was emotionally constricted or he was just obsessed with cars. Either way, as the film progresses, the man's freedom dwindles away and he can no longer drive the car he loves. Following these odd letters, the film ends with a little epilogue by his grandson.

While none of this seemed super-profound, the film was a nice gentle short film and it was accentuated by excellent emotive music and a nice use of archival footage and letters. Style-wise, this was a lovely film and a nice tribute to a man most would never have heard about otherwise.

As this one opened, I felt skeptical. I've seen, and liked, "Solace," but as "87 Topaz" got rolling, I thought, "oh-KAY, this time it's a weeper with cars." Not only that, but Kersey seemed to be mining his own memories for this material. Those are seas that have swamped greater filmmakers. I hung with it to make sure that I didn't miss a good train wreck.

Kersey won me over to this one with nuanced writing. He's always good with the camera and the editing suite, but there are some gorgeous subtleties in this screenplay and, once again, Kersey believes in his material enough to let it stand on its own. That, in itself, is spectacular.

So the film is ultimately smart, potent, and a winner. There are some things that made me wince. The final sequence felt tacked on and awkward, so much so that I realized in subsequent viewings that I had missed Kersey's point completely. And this one feels very much like a Ken Burns film. That's forgivable; given the format it's hard for it NOT to feel like Burns.