Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt

Released Sep 13, 2004

1h 39m

Documentary

List

94%

Tomatometer

35 Reviews

91%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

Singer-songwriter Townes van Zandt was at the center of Austin's outlaw country scene in the 1970s, but, while friends like Waylon Jennings and Steve Earle went on to mainstream stardom, the mercurial Van Zandt retreated into a haze of alcoholism and mental illness. Through interviews and rarely seen live footage recorded throughout Van Zandt's performing and recording career, this sympathetic documentary traces his work and life, which was cut short on New Year's Day 1997, when he was 52.

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J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

This may not be a solid biography, but it feels true.

Apr 6, 2010

Full Review

Mario Tarradell

Dallas Morning News

[An] honest, sobering and poignant tribute to a tortured talent who died young and left behind a treasure chest of songs.

Rated: A-

Mar 9, 2006

Full Review

Joel Selvin

San Francisco Chronicle

A documentary that in its spirit and feel catches some of the vulnerability and naive optimism of its subject, Van Zandt.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 3, 2006

Full Review

David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

Best of all, there is beautifully preserved in-concert footage, particularly a 1995 Amsterdam gig...

May 7, 2020

Full Review

Felicia Feaster

Creative Loafing

The film feels most authentic when it talks about the exhilaration and the freedom Van Zandt and other musicians feel when they cut off ties to family and home to make a songwriter's life on the road.

Jan 29, 2020

Full Review

Brian Gibson

Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)

A textured, elegiac, and deeply plangent music documentary. Brown's film, never exposing Van Zandt to too much harsh light, preserves this enigma just enough that it makes you want to go back to the music after you've caught these glimpses of the man.

May 25, 2015

Full Review

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brandon k

Flawed but worth checking out for concert footage and some insightful interviews. Especially if you already know the records and outline of his life.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

ben c

Deeply affecting and even moreso for those from Southeast Texas.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

great portrait of a fascinating heart breaking talent - the amazing singer song writer manic depressive wandering artsy nut big hearted bad ass...with some impressive old footage, an accurate honest feeling portrait...some pieces that make me jealous and others that are horrifying and terrifying..with snippets of music, def well worth a look

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Margaret Brown's distressing Townes Van Vandt bio-pic asks many more questions than it is able to answer. The inexplicable collision of mental illness, alcoholism, drug addiction and profound creativity that was Townes' life is often too painful to watch; key pieces of the puzzle don't seem to fit. All we may ever be able to do is retreat into the music, much like Townes himself did when he was "high, low and in between".

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

greatest movie ever, townes is amazing

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fourth time I've watched this.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

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Margaret Brown

Director

Steve Earle

Self

Emmylou Harris

Self

Kris Kristofferson

Self

Willie Nelson

Self

Townes van Zandt

Self

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Synopsis

Singer-songwriter Townes van Zandt was at the center of Austin's outlaw country scene in the 1970s, but, while friends like Waylon Jennings and Steve Earle went on to mainstream stardom, the mercurial Van Zandt retreated into a haze of alcoholism and mental illness. Through interviews and rarely seen live footage recorded throughout Van Zandt's performing and recording career, this sympathetic documentary traces his work and life, which was cut short on New Year's Day 1997, when he was 52.

Director: Margaret Brown
Producer: Margaret Brown, Sam Brumbaugh
Distributor: Palm Pictures
Production Co: Rake Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 13, 2004, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Dec 2, 2005
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 14, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $129.4K
Runtime: 1h 39m