Patti Smith in 'Dream of Life' Still Haunts Me

[Patti Smith: Dream of Life], which opened at [Film Forum ](http://www.filmforum.org/)this week, is more than a snapshot into the life of a mysterious and ever-present artist. Even though filmmaker Steven Sebring has said he felt he was working with a series of stills, and just because Patti Smith takes photographs throughout the picture, when I left the theatre, I couldn’t help but feel that my idea of Smith as an artist was complete.

The film begins with a synopsis of Smith’s life. She left New Jersey and moved to New York to make music and art. Along the way, she married Fred “Sonic” Smith of the MC5, moved to Detroit with him to start a family, and eventually returned to New York. But what Smith said in a voiceover at the start of the film, and again later, has haunted me everyday since, the perfection of her words explains why this film was made and why anyone cares about her.

“Life is an adventure of our own design, intersected by fate in a series of lucky and unlucky accidents.”

Following the screening, I asked Smith how she came up with the quote.

“That’s life,” she said. “I just thought of it and I said it.”

At first I felt affronted. Why did she blow me off? But then I thought about it. To a woman like Smith, being able to make sense of the world around you just comes naturally.

Sebring is a fashion photographer and found himself, 11 years ago, on a photo shoot with Smith. They hit it off and have been collaborators ever since.

The film is beautiful, and shot almost totally in black and white. There are precious moments, like a visit with Smith’s parents in New Jersey. Mr. Smith tells a poetic story about the trees in his yard, and how he planted them. It’s easy to see where his daughter found her way with words and imagery.

Another tender moment features Smith with the ashes of Robert Mapplethorpe (pictured with Smith), her long time friend and past lover, in her hand. She pushed them around and lovingly remembers him. Further exemplifying her character, she talks about the ashes and not Mapplethorpe. Maybe most people haven’t held ashes before, she said. They don’t feel like ashes, they feel more like tiny, crushed shells.

Dream of Life doesn’t follow a cohesive story line. It’s basically a montage of Smith and her life in the recent past. A lot of the film is devoted to her protesting the Iraq War. There is some concert footage. And my favorite, a personal jam session with friend and rumored former lover, the playwright and actor Sam Shepard.

And while we all can’t be Shepard or Mapplethorpe, anyone who sees this film will come away a Patti Smith lover himself.