Stuff You Gotta Watch: Full Mantis
Milford Graves’s world was teeming with life. In the mosaic-covered home he lived in since childhood, a collection of instruments, artifacts, and electronic gizmos were as densely packed as his blossoming garden. This environment could only be cultivated by someone with a creative mind. Dazzling for decades with rhythms freed from the constraints of keeping time, the legendary free-jazz percussionist injected energy into everything he touched.
The 2018 film Full Mantis (streaming for free on Kanopy with library card access) feels intimate, because it spends its entire duration with Graves. No one else needs to offer examples of Graves’s vibrant personality. You can see it for yourself. Over 90 minutes it becomes a meditative montage of live-wire performances, martial arts training, and fascinating monologues (generously peppered with the word “man”).
In the film’s most heartwarming passage, the drummer provides commentary on archival footage from his trip to Japan to perform for a school of autistic children. Every second spent with Graves is a pleasure, from the moment he bends down to bite spinach from the ground, to the proud presentation of his high-tech invention that turned heartbeats into ecstatic electronic music. Full Mantis makes it clear that Graves’s generosity of spirit knew no bounds.
Review by Jesse Locke. Check out the full archive of the Stuff You Gotta Watch column.