The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack

Rating:
Summary: Ramblin' Video
Review: What a treat! True, the film could have been developed more more professionally. True, there were too many shots of whiny ex-wives. And a psychoanalyst might have a field day with this film: Jack's aunt describes Jack's mom in uncomplimentary terms, to say the least. And maybe that's why Jack had so many different wives and girlfriends.

But what's important is that Aiyana Elliott did make a film, however flawed. Jack's not the type to dictate his memoirs. Without this video, we'd never have the opportunity to appreciate one man's fascinating life.

Born in Brooklyn to a doctor and a teacher, Jack always knew he wanted to be a cowboy. I was surprised to see so many home movies still preserved -- but there was Jack, galloping around on an imaginary horse. At age fifteen Jack ran away to join the rodeo. He returned to finish high school, most reluctantly, and then assumed his new identity of cowboy and folk singer.

Very few people make such a break from their childhoods and create their own identity from scratch. Even fewer live as free spirits. Jack was made for, and shaped by, an era when young boys could run off and join the rodeo without getting anybody arrested. He could watch cowboy movies and meet real cowboys in Madison Square Garden.

Jack deserves a video just for the way he lived his life. The music is frosting on the cake, and very thick frosting it is, too.

Aiyana initially wants to know her dad and have at least one conversation with him. One of the strongest moments comes when Arlo Guthrie urges her to give up her quest. Maybe it's not for you to know, he says. There's a bit of irony here: Woodly Guthrie was Jack Elliott's mentor and now his son Arlo mentors Jack's daughter, if only briefly.

Jack Elliott wanted to do things his way, even if his way may seem difficult, even self-destructive, to an outsider. He was too "disorganized" to attract a top-quality manager. Norman Leventhal, who managed many folk singers (including the Weavers) explained: You'd spend a long time setting up a deal, and then Jack couldn't be found.

Because Jack doesn't talk -- apparently to anyone, not just his daughter -- we'll never know how he felt as he ventured around the country during those years. Did he ever get frustrated or sad or discouraged? Maybe he buried his feelings so he could keep going. Maybe he never had many bad days: he's certainly one of the most cheerful, gregarious characters ever captured on film. Too much introspection would have driven him off the road.

As one interviewee says, maybe Jack could have settled down into a house with a "normal" family. Maybe he would have been happy. But he wouldn't have been Jack. I don't think he would have been happy, either. Being somewhat of a wanderer myself, I believe some people are made to keep moving, and they're miserable if they force themselves to settle too quickly.

I'm not musically expert enough to evaluate Jack's talent. His sound isn't as strong or individual as, say, Johnny Cash or Kris Kristofferson, both of whom appear in the film. But he's got intensity and feeling. And he never stopped traveling, singing and learning.

The video ends with Ramblin Jack accepting a national arts award from President Clinton, just after he had won a grammy for his first studio album. A fictional movie with a lead character like Jack and an ending like this one would be dismissed as a sappy fairy tale with a Hollywood ending. The charm of this video is that, on the contrary, it's very very real.