Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

This documentary is a fascinating, poignant effort to assess the life of mysterious expatriate writer Paul Bowles. It includes archival "home movie" footage, as well as interviews with William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and other "beat" era writers who knew Bowles and his wife Jane during his 50 years in Morocco. We see a man who is obviously on death's doorstep, but who has made a semblance of peace with himself and his past. He discusses his philosophy on writing (he basically doesn't have one), his life with Jane, his homosexuality, and his complex relationship with his adopted country. This film does not earn a higher rating, because it teases more than it tells . . . probably due to the difficulty of getting information from Bowles. It will make you want to read his autobiography and all his other literary works, if you haven't already done so.