Review by Marty Mapes

Most of the details in the early "parts" of this documentary on composer Philip Glass are of limited interest. If they serve a purpose, it's to get us acquainted with Glass -- intelligent, hard-working, soft-spoken, yet impatient, verging on short-tempered.

But as Glass starts talking about the meaning of music, the depth of his genius starts to emerge. Glass begins to talk to Hicks's camera as an equal. And that's when we get some really interesting insights into how a composer views music. Hicks manages to bring the audience in to the hot molten core of a deep conversation with Glass. I loved hearing a composer talk about the limits of hearing, as though he were speaking to another gifted composer about the perils of their profession.

But Hicks presents Glass warts and all. Glass can seem impatient and overbearing. His wives generally speak well of him but acknowledge his personal flaws. While one wife speaks intimately to the camera about the rocks in their relationship, Glass barges in and demands her computer password. The movie shows Glass' spiritual journey, but also hints at his being suckered by shaman half his age whose philosophy, from what I can gather, is one of humiliation and endangerment.

The best part of the film is the middle act, which builds on the factual foundation from the first part, and moves into the meaning of music. The conclusion involves a lot of footage from a new Glass opera, which is visually interesting and gives the audience a chance to hear some new music. But Glass was better when we were talking about the subject with the man himself.

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