he Maysles brothers depict what it's like to be in the middle of an uncomfortable salesman situation from both sides, over and over and over and over again. In the meantime, they explore the nature of salesmanship, it's ties with the American Dream, and also the irony of being a Bible salesman and a Catholic. It's good, but it's not really pleasant viewing anyway you stretch it, and for anyone who's been a salesman or had to deal with them (i.e., the majority of everybody), it brings up some bad memories.
As a movie made under the Maysles' "direct cinema" approach, it's very successful: finding a narrative in the real-life records, making a nonfiction that doesn't call itself documentary. This movie is certainly a very interesting exploration of editing and form, especially as concerns the scene of traveling on the train, where the two brothers literally put thoughts into the character's head via flashbacks.
--PolarisDiB
As a movie made under the Maysles' "direct cinema" approach, it's very successful: finding a narrative in the real-life records, making a nonfiction that doesn't call itself documentary. This movie is certainly a very interesting exploration of editing and form, especially as concerns the scene of traveling on the train, where the two brothers literally put thoughts into the character's head via flashbacks.
--PolarisDiB