Always for Pleasure

Les Blank's 1978 documentary records the street celebrations of New Orleans. Mardi Gras processions, the music played behind funeral parades and neighbourhood festivals are followed in turn. The method is to join in. There is no narrator and no explanation; the camera walks inside the parade, goes into kitchens and gives the preparation of food the same weight as the music. Food and music stand together in all of Blank's films. Professor Longhair, the Neville brothers and the Wild Tchoupitoulas were recorded playing. The documentary treats the city not as a tourist spectacle but as neighbourhood tradition, and keeps the question of who takes part inside the frame. Who it's for: those who like music documentary and the culture of New Orleans. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a structured narrative; the film is the flow of a celebration.