"When you think the night has seen your mind 
That inside you're twisted and unkind 
Let me stand to show that you are blind 
Please put down your hands 
'Cause I see you"
(I'll Be Your Mirror by The Velvet Underground)

This song by the Velvet Underground fits Bill Cunningham's story to a tee. This movie and this song are probably two of the best I've seen and heard lately.

I love this film. It can't get any direct than that. It's happy, inspiring, and a bit sad all at the same time. Here's a man who has dedicated his life to his craft: street style photography or style documentation. Bill Cunningham is quite an enigma, I would say, as people knew so little about him other than his stunning body of work. He lives like a monk - solitary and incredibly passionate about his work. He doesn't care at all about money, attends soirees to photograph society people but refuses to dine and wine. In the film he mentions how freedom and liberty are much more important than money, especially in the art world. Bill Cunningham is truly an artist in every sense of the word. It's not everyday that we catch a glimpse of people like him.

Towards the end of the documentary, the filmmakers sat Bill down and asked him direct questions about his relationships and religion. It was tastefully done in a sense that they prefaced each question with an option for Bill not to answer if he wasn't that comfortable. Right from the beginning, the filmmakers established Bill was a very private person. So this raw interview scene all made sense. 

The interviewer asked if he ever fell in love in the past? He burst into a hearty laugh. He knew what was coming, and so he told them if they wanted to know he was gay. It was a long-winded answer. All I got was that he was too busy with his work to think about having relationships. The next question dealt with regrets and religion. To this Bill paused and looked down almost in tears - I wanted to hug him after that. Seems like he never fully actualized himself as a homosexual because of his upbringing and his devout Catholic faith. And I'm not saying that's a bad thing. I just feel like this man deserves way more than that. He is a very inspiring person. But I can understand - or I think I can - why he lives the way he does. I've known people like him and, more often than not, they become real artisans just like Bill.

The pace of the film was life-like. They followed Bill through his daily meanderings in New York shooting people on the streets for New York Times' Style Section, and snapping people at high-end New York parties for Evening Hours section. For the longest time, he lives in Carnegie Hall which was once home to the city's best artists - some of them were interviewed in the film. He doesn't own a kitchen instead his place was full of file cabinets and fashion books all crammed in his little apartment. He's like a character out of Thoreau's Walden. 

Bill Cunningham is not so much a professional photographer but a chronicler of what style and fashion is all about as we see it on the streets. He is extremely knowledgeable about fashion and his photographs often predict what is going to be the next upcoming trend. I love how he wants the streets to talk to him instead of shooting a predetermined set of what style should be. I like how he still remembers the past references of today's fashion shows. He loves people with character - especially women. He doesn't care about celebrities or trends. It's more of documenting the people and culture of New York. Bill Cunningham believes that dressing-up is a kind of armor for the real world. Though ironically, Bill himself dresses-up for function rather than fashion. But this does not affect the philosophy he espouses when it comes to style documentation. In his words, the world would be a big drab if people all dressed the same way.

I highly recommend this film for Bill's inspiring character alone. Even if you are not into fashion, you'll definitely get a lot of insight from a man whose eye, passion, and philosophy stands out like no other. 

5 out of 5 rating