Documentary Movie Reviews

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Salesman (1969)

Rate: 2
Viewed: 9/24

Salesm
9/24: I'm starting to hate the Maysles brothers' documentary films, having undergone the awfulness of Grey Gardens.

This time, it's Salesman which feels like an Errol Morris picture: stupid, pointless, repetitive, structureless, and vacuous. A bunch of door-to-door bible salesmen talk all day without making an iota of sense and think they're funny when in fact aren't.

They are, in fact, con men selling a bullshit book for $49.95 which translates to $429.14 today. No wonder why most potential low-income customers were very hesitant about the deal in spite of their dim-wittedness. Even they can get it for free in hotel rooms. Given how much the salesmen smoke while being interviewed, I'm surprised to discover many of them went on to live a long life.

All in all, Salesman is boring nonsense although it has a "Death of a Salesman meets Glengarry Glen Ross" slant.