Thoughts on You See Me Laughin'

My thoughts on the documentary, You See Me Laughin', are tepid. The film profiled the tragic yet talented lives of a group of Blues musicians from rural Mississippi. I truly enjoyed listening to the musicians recount their life experiences and simplisitc yet eloquent philosphy. Yardbrough's retelling of the incident where he shot a man in the head was humorous and complex. I can't recall his analogy about the guy jumping the fence or something like that, but it was quite funny. I was shocked by his apathy at shooting a man in the head. I'm not sure how you could justify shooting some one in the back of the head as justifible homicide and then serve a six month sentence. Honestly, I cannot recall his story with vivid detail, but I do remember those two key features.

T-Model Ford's tale of child abuse by his father was disturbing. At first I thought he was describing rape, but, apparently, his father beat his testicles.........and caused bleeding......... I'd sing the Blues as well if that happened to me. Adding his turbulent relationship with his wife and her attempt to kill him, it's only natural for him to be drawn to the genre. His run-in with the law was interesting as well. Again, I can't remember his motive, but I believe he stabbed some guy in the throat, hid in a ditch for two day, but was eventually arrested and convicted.

Ciddell last name I can't recell had a very innovative and resourceful way of playing the guitar after being trampled and major illness. It was amazing watching him play with one hand in mal form.

The illustrations of incidents in the musicians lives were pretty neat as well. Reminded me of Kill Bill I.

My only complaint against the movie was the deep, rural, southern accents. It was difficult to understand what they were trying to convey at certain points in the film. Perhaps it was the bad audio settings of the sound system.

Overall, I enjoyed the film. Wouldn't watch it a second time, but I would recommend it to others.