Filmmaker Chris Metzler, who lived and grew up in the Decorah area and attended North Winneshiek school, is releasing his latest film, JACK HAS A PLAN, at the screening at Oneota Film Festival March 1 and 3.
Filmmaker Chris Metzler, who lived and grew up in the Decorah area and attended North Winneshiek school, is releasing his latest film, JACK HAS A PLAN, at the screening at Oneota Film Festival March 1 and 3.
Metzler relayed, “Similar to some of my previous documentaries this new feature doc is also a bit fun, but with this film being a bit more of a complex emotional journey. As to more about the film, JACK HAS A PLAN, tells the story of a quirky but cheerful middle-aged man, Jack, who defies the odds of a terminal brain tumor for 25 years. Then he opts to end his life legally, while his best friend documents his years-long plan to throw a permanent going-away party.”
The main character Jack Tuller is a musician, video artist, storyteller and bon vivant. He carries himself through the world like a celebrity—despite having no real claim to fame beyond his affable personality. Jack walks his dog through the streets of San Francisco, strikes up casual conversations with strangers that somehow repeatedly turn into close lifelong friendships. However, his career as a budding performance artist and music impresario was forever altered in 1994, when he was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumor and given six months to live.
JACK HAS A PLAN tells the story of the following 25 years, as Jack dodges one bullet after the next—but the tumor, an existential threat, persists. How is it even possible for somebody to be terminal for two-and-a-half decades?
Jack winds up turning his brain surgeries into a Left Coast creative documentary-performance project complete with experimental movies, music, diaries and an alternative self-help persona: the Mindless Guru.
The central narrative of JACK HAS A PLAN begins when, at 55, Jack appears to be finally running out of luck. He literally hears trumpets and angelic voices in his head. Jack can no longer work and loses the wherewithal to manage creative projects. So he enlists his close friend, filmmaker Bradley Berman, to document his life story—before it’s too late and his memory and capacity for language retreats forever.
Jack’s predicament propels him on an emotional journey to explore the legal and ethical options available for ending his life. The clock is ticking so Jack develops a plan for how to handle the most consequential of life-and-death decisions. Viewers come along the journey as Jack puts his affairs in order, mostly by trying to get his family and community to make peace with his decision.
Inspired by similar personal documentary essays, this film reveals universal truths about mortality, as well as the range of available options for how to approach the inevitable. JACK HAS A PLAN is a compelling personal work that combines traditional documentary and performance to explore the nature of love and friendship. It’s also an inspiring story about self-determination, creativity, and transcendence.
Watch the film’s trailer here: https://vimeo.com/679337715