for the trees: 'Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune' and Victor Jara

Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune is a brilliant film that you must see. It was a beautiful time machine back to the '60s.

I got to the venue about ten minutes before the film began. I figured I'd be the only one in the theatre, but I was sorely wrong - huge lineups reaching the entrance of Sonic Boom. I didn't initially notice that I was the youngest person in sight by twenty years at very least. A woman who looked to be in her fifties standing behind me asked me if I knew the music of Phil Ochs. I gave her my honest answer by replying - "I don't know his music very well, but I'd really like to, so this is my opportunity to get familiar." I also added my love for the decade, and admitted to knowing very little of the sixties, although I do consider myself pretty knowledgeable when it comes to that time period. There's just so much to wrap your mind around, it's almost hard to keep up.

What a looker!

I got in and grabbed a good seat. There are perks to traveling solo.

The film was absolutely invigorating. It portrayed the demise of Phil Ochs - an interesting companion to the NOW article thats catch line on the cover was "What Killed Phil Ochs?" An odd question to be asking - almost misleading if you don't know his story. The film does a wonderful job of informing the new Phil Ochs fan. A pal at TIFF this year past got me thinking of how information is presenting in film - does it treat you like a moron by telling you everything rather than letting you do the thinking? This can be applied to both regular film and documentaries. I loved that this film along with the footage of recent interviews showed a split screen between the interviews and old photos of the people being interviewed. It gave context and understanding without blatantly presenting it.

I'm not really sure why Phil Ochs isn't more well known. I asked my music savvy uncle and father if they knew who he was. They both did, but didn't really know much about him or his music. The best my uncle could espouse was that he was a folky artist from Greenwich that sounded like Peter Paul and Mary. I gaged when he drew that comparison, I love "Puff the Magic Dragon" but the purpose of each act's music was very different. Ochs was a true poet and musician, it flowed easy for him. He had a natural interest in politics and current affairs - each song was written to engage and educate, as much as it was for musical enjoyment. Maybe even a bit more of the education than the musical enjoyment.

I believe Ochs really lived, although nearing the end of his life he took a sad decline. Although he took his own life in his mid-thirties, his presence was strong through his activism and desire to see the world. I think his fear and disappointment of the world around him pushed him to his death. From the movie, I gathered he wasn't a very good family man or father. He traveled a lot for his music and pleasure.

I really felt his relationship with the Chilean folk artist and activist Victor Jara. Jara was a victim of the 1973 Chilean coup where Salvador Allende was booted from presidency and replaced by Augusto Pinochet. With Pinochet's move to Office, there were immense changes in the social and political life of Chile. Parliament was shut down suffocating political life and trade unions were banned. His government disappeared 3,000 opponents and arrested 30,000 individuals.

Jara's case was incredibly heartbreaking. Upon hearing an older man's account I couldn't help but feel, feel everything. I took a course on Latin America a couple of years ago and I remember learning about the 1973 coup, but no word was mentioned about Jara.

To summarise what happened far too quickly -

"On the morning of September 12, Jara was taken, along with thousands of others, as a prisoner to the Chile Stadium (renamed the Estadio Víctor Jara in September 2003). In the hours and days that followed, many of those detained in the stadium were tortured and killed there by the military forces. Jara was repeatedly beaten and tortured; the bones in his hands were broken as were his ribs.^[4] Fellow political prisoners have testified that his captors mockingly suggested that he play guitar for them as he lay on the ground with broken hands. Defiantly, he sang part of "Venceremos" (We Will Win), a song supporting the Popular Unity coalition.^[4] After further beatings, he was machine-gunned on September 15, his body dumped on a road on the outskirts of Santiago and then taken to a city morgue where they found 44 bullet shots on his body." Pulled from Wikipedia

Like myself, Phil Ochs took this hard. Jara was someone he had met on his world travels and seriously respected.

Ochs spent a lot of time dwelling on these horrid events. Here's his response to Jara's death -

On September 11, 1973, the Allende government of Chile was overthrown in a coup d'état. Allende died during the bombing of the presidential palace, and Jara was publicly tortured and killed. When Ochs heard about the manner in which his friend had been killed, he was outraged. He decided to organize a benefit concert to bring to public attention the situation in Chile and raise funds for the people of Chile. The concert, "An Evening with Salvador Allende", included films of Allende; singers such as Pete Seeger,Arlo Guthrie, and Bob Dylan; and political activists such as former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark. Dylan had agreed to perform at the last minute when he heard that the concert had sold so few tickets that it was in danger of being canceled. Once his participation was announced, the event quickly sold out.^[97]

After the Chile benefit, Ochs and Dylan discussed the possibility of a joint concert tour, playing small nightclubs. Nothing came of the Dylan-Ochs plans, but the idea eventually evolved into Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue.^[98]Pulled from Wikipedia

Additional efforts -

The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975.^[99] Ochs planned a final "War Is Over" rally, which was held in New York's Central Parkon May 11. More than 100,000 people came to hear Ochs, joined by Harry Belafonte, Odetta, Pete Seeger and others. Ochs and Joan Baez sang a duet of "There but for Fortune" and he closed with his song "The War Is Over"—finally a true declaration that the war was over.^[100]Pulled from Wikipedia