MY ARCHITECT: A SON'S JOURNEY (TV)
Summary
This Academy Award-nominated documentary follows Nathaniel Kahn's search to get to know his late father, famous architect Louis Kahn, who died suddenly in 1974. Nathaniel, who was not mentioned in his father's obituary when Louis died "bankrupt and alone" of a heart attack at Penn Station, then lying unclaimed at the morgue for three days, explains that he spent sporadic time with his father as a child and then attended Yale University, where several of Louis' buildings stand. Nathaniel's former professors speak reverentially of how Louis "changed the course of architecture" with his dynamic designs, and Philip Johnson asserts that he was a "true artist." Nathaniel recalls his father's abrupt late-night visits to his mother Harriet Pattison's home just outside of Philadelphia, explaining that he had one daughter, Sue Ann, with his wife Esther, and another daughter, Alexander, with a second mistress, Anne Tyng. He visits Louis' office on Walnut Street and then examines his only major Philadelphia building, the Richards Medical Research Building at the University of Pennsylvania, confessing himself disappointed with its not-so-"pretty" design. Nathaniel then sits down with Oscar Kramer, Louis' cousin and the rabbi who officiated his funeral, and Kramer is amazed to learn that Louis had a secret son, explaining that he was often teased and questioned for his lack of financial success with his work.
Nathaniel recalls hearing the tale of the childhood accident that led to his father's distinctive facial scars, and renowned architect I.M. Pei explains that Louis drew inspiration from Scottish castles for his work on the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, which Pei states will "stand the test of time." Nathaniel visits the lab and talks to Jack MacAllister, who recalls spending Christmases with Louis and admits that he learned to "forgive" Louis' occasional abrasive attitude about their work. Richard Katz, who witnessed Louis' sudden death, admits that it was not a "peaceful" passing, and Nathaniel admits that he struggled to accept the truth of his oft-absent father's demise. Louis, born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky in Estonia in "1901 or 1902," emigrated to Philadelphia as a child and developed a talent for music and art, eventually studying architecture at Penn. He did not truly "find himself" as an artist until a 1950 trip to Rome, where he was strongly influenced by the styles of the ancient ruins. Tyng, also an architect, admits that he was "not domestic" and had no intention of leaving Esther to marry her – or Harriet. Together Tyng and Louis designed a bath house in Trenton, which she describes as his first truly authentic work.
Nathaniel next tracks down Louis "nemesis," former Executive Director of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission Edmund Bacon, who heatedly describes Louis' "absolute pure ignorance" in his ideas for rebuilding the downtown areas of the city. Richard Saul Wurman recalls attending one of Louis' lectures, stating that he "spoke his truth" and guessing that anti-Semitism played a part in Louis' many professional setbacks. Nathaniel is then surprised to find that his father also designed a "crazy boat," a futuristic-looking floating concert hall called the Point Counterpoint II, and captain/conductor Robert Boudreau is overwhelmed to meet his old friend's son. Harriet weighs in on the difficulties of being a second mistress, recalling her brothers' strong dislike of the eccentric, aloof Louis, though Nathaniel's aunts state that they supported her admittedly "impractical" choice to have a child while unwed. Next, at the Kimbell Art Museum in Texas, architect Robert A.M. Stern agrees that Louis was deeply flawed despite his talents, noting that he very much wanted job of designing the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, eventually taken by Pei.
Louis, who died half a million dollars in debt, lost money on every project except the Salk Institute, and was at work on a reconstruction of the Hurva Synogogue in Jerusalem at the time of his death. Nathaniel travels to Israel and talks with former mayor Teddy Kollek, who notes that political strife is now interfering with the construction plans, and Nathaniel finds that he agrees with his father's plans to leave the ruins of the former synagogue, bombed in the war in 1948, in place as a memorial. Moshe Safdie suggests that Louis was a "nomad" who was not strongly connected to his roots, but still wished to create the first "great Jewish building." Nathaniel views a taped interview with the late Esther and then invites his half-sisters to the Norman Fisher House outside of Philadelphia, where Sue Ann recalls her sense of guilt at the funeral, having felt that she could not reach out to her half-siblings without upsetting the three "wives." Nathaniel wonders if they are truly all one family, and Harriet recalls Louis' brusque attitude at the news of her pregnancy and questions Nathaniel about the "myth" of his father's intentions to marry her and live with them as a family. Former co-worker Duncan Buell agrees that Louis was "honorable" in all things aside from his treatment of the women in his life, and secretary Kathy Condé recalls the challenge of covering for him with Esther, Anne and Harriet.
Finally, Nathaniel travels to India and Bangladesh, from which Louis was returning at the time of his death, and talks to B.V. Doshi, who reflects on Louis' philosophical thoughts and suggests that his spirit, demonstrated through his works, will someday "return" to the living world. He visits the National Parliament House of Bangladesh, or the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban, which took over 20 years to complete and was finished several years after Louis' death. Shamsul Wares grows emotional as he describes what the elegant, light-filled building means to the impoverished country, asserting that the sometimes-difficult Louis in fact had "an enormous amount of love" within him. Nathaniel concludes that his father has finally "become real" to him, feeling that he is finally able to say goodbye to the man he hardly knew.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO/Cinemax
- DATE: November 30, 1999 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:56:05
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:79489
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Public affairs/Documentaries; Architects; Fathers and sons; Philadelphia; Biography
- SERIES RUN: HBO/Cinemax - TV, 2004
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Andrew S. Clayman … Executive Producer
- Darrell Friedman … Executive Producer
- Susan Rose Behr … Executive Producer
- Nathaniel Kahn … Producer, Director
- Yael Melamede … Co-Producer
- Phyllis Kaufman … Associate Producer
- John Hochroth … Associate Producer
- Judy Moon … Associate Producer
- Simon Egleton … Line Producer
- Joseph Vitarelli … Music by
- Brad Ellis … Music by
- Nick Viterelli … Music by
- Philip Johnson … Interviewee
- Oscar Kramer … Interviewee
- I.M. Pei … Interviewee
- Jack MacAllister … Interviewee
- Richard Katz … Interviewee
- Anne Tyng … Interviewee
- Edmund Bacon … Interviewee
- Richard Saul Wurman … Interviewee
- Robert Boudreau … Interviewee
- Harriet Pattison … Interviewee
- Robert A.M. Stern … Interviewee
- Teddy Kollek … Interviewee
- Moshe Safdie … Interviewee
- Duncan Buell … Interviewee
- Kathy Condé … Interviewee
- B.V. Doshi … Interviewee
- Shamsul Wares … Interviewee
- Sue Ann Kahn … Interviewee
- Alexandra Tyng … Interviewee
- Esther Kahn
- Louis Kahn