31
May/13

TRIUMPH OF THE WALL

31
May/13
TRIUMPH OF THE WALL

Bill Stone follows the travails of novice stonemason Chris Overing in TRIUMPH OF THE WALL

TRIUMPH OF THE WALL: LIFE AS A WORK IN PROGRESS (Bill Stone, 2013)
Quad Cinema
34 West 13th St.
Opens Friday, May 17
212-255-2243
www.quadcinema.com
www.bunburyfilms.com

When Bill Stone first began making Triumph of the Wall: My Life as a Work in Progress, he was hoping for a meditative documentary on the nature of expectation, exploring commitment, contemplation, and connection in both life and work, both his and his subject’s. However, he ends up with something far different, and try as he might, he just can’t get it on track. Stone follows the travails of Chris Overing, a jack of all trades who has accepted a job building a one-thousand-foot dry-stone wall for an unseen client. Overing has never done anything quite like this before, and that becomes readily apparent as what he thought would be a two-month process turns into years. During that time, Stone sticks with his subject, attempting to get him to wax poetic about what he is experiencing, maybe talk about perfection, procrastination, and the possibility of ever seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, Overing doesn’t have a whole lot to say, and the vast majority of what he does say is not very philosophical. But Stone soldiers on, traveling to Scotland to talk to some professional stonemasons, and he even brings in a pair of artist friends to help work on the wall, desperate for colorful stories and more exciting human interaction. But as the frustration keeps mounting, the director stretches too far as he awkwardly, if very honestly, tries to make sense of it all. (For a much better treatise on wall building, check out Paul Auster’s 1990 novel The Music of Chance, which features a character named Stone.) At the start, Overing, Stone, and the film are filled with promise; even the director’s name makes the whole thing feel like it was meant to be. But alas, the various story lines, like so many of the stones, never quite fit together. Triumph of the Wall opens May 31 at the Quad, with Stone, Overing, and producer Fred Bohbot participating in Q&As following the 7:00 shows on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night.