This is a sad and cautionary documentary about the life of Townes Van Zandt, borderline country star, absentee father and avid drug user. From Van Zandts happy childhood in an upper-middle-class family, through his experiments in brain dissolution, to his devastating shock-therapy treatments, and on through a career as a successful songwriter, Van Zandts life is something of a testament to the American spirit, whatever the hell that is. Director Margaret Brown mixes stock footage with contemporary interviews and dreamy montage sequences to neatly convey the feel of a man who could lay down some decent music when he wasnt so high he was bumping his head against satellites.