Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts

The documentary follows Philip Glass across a year: at the piano, in opera rehearsal, with his family, in the kitchen and on tour. It is divided into twelve parts, each showing the composer through a different relationship. The film is not interested in music theory. It is interested in the price of a working discipline: Glass sits at the desk at the same hour every morning and the people around him revolve around that. The tension with his third wife is its most honest element, and the composer allows it to be recorded. The form is a portrait in sections: talking heads, home video, rehearsal footage and Glass's own music in between. The divided structure suits a composer whose language is built on repetition. Scott Hicks directed; he was known for Shine. People who worked with Glass speak in the film: Errol Morris, Godfrey Reggio, Ravi Shankar and Chuck Close. Who it is for: viewers who like Glass's music and portraits of artists. Who it is not for: anyone expecting an introduction. The film assumes you know who Glass is and never explains the music technically.