Elliott Murphy

Broken Poet is a compelling investigation into the meaning of success, rock stardom and even freedom itself which, as Janis Joplin sang, is just another word for nothing left to lose.

The film is a day in the life of a young artist, Jean-Michel Basquiat, who needs to raise money to reclaim the apartment from which he has been evicted. He wanders the downtown streets carrying a painting he hopes to sell, encountering friends, whose lives (and performances) we peek into.

Born in New York in 1949, Elliott Murphy becomes one of the new Dylans in the '70s; most critics from the era praise his albums; still, he makes a bigger connection with European audiences, becoming a worshipped artist in countries overseas.

Jean, a respected theater actor, leads a dissolute life. Separated from the mother of his child, he devotes most of his time to work, alcohol, and women. Sylvain in full adolescence, feels the need to get closer to his father. On a whim, both of them leave to join an old friend of Jean, Bob the American, who lives on an isolated ranch. From then on, they will try to apprehend each other, with clumsiness, hesitation and sometimes even violence.

Broken Poet is a compelling investigation into the meaning of success, rock stardom and even freedom itself which, as Janis Joplin sang, is just another word for nothing left to lose.