My Father the Genius (2005) | DVD Review

When futurist/architect Glen Howard Small asked his estranged daughter to document his life’s work, the film she shot was not what he had in mind. Instead of chronicling his contribution to the world of architecture, the documentary shifts focus from his failed attempts at constructing eco-utopian societies, to his disastrous attempts at being a father.

Glen’s career looked like it was taking off in the mid-sixties when he and a group of up-and-coming west coast architects founded SCI-arc, an institution promoting innovation in architecture. Mr. Small’s classes drew large numbers of students interested in changing the way cities were constructed. His ideas introduced a type of “living-city” known as the bio-metric biosphere, a floating metropolis complete with floral buildings and bubble cars. Self-described as “a perfect city designed to solve the ecological problems of the world in a beautiful, gorgeous manner, an alternative to the existing mediocrity,” this utopia would become an obsession of Glen’s, consuming his life at the expense of his family, friends and co-workers.

Lucia Small captures her father’s passion, frustration and disillusion perfectly, while at the same time contrasting the effects his fixation had on those around him. The most emotional scenes are when he admits his shortcomings as a father and to caring more about his work then his family. One scene in particular shows him dancing around the room with a recent design for a Nicaraguan hotel, lamenting the fact that he cannot marry his own model. “Relationships come and go,” he says, “but the work is forever.” The filmmaker interviews her family and Glen’s co-workers who universally agree that although he has a great deal of passion for his work, he could never translate that infatuation into human relationships.

Thus, the film works as a meditation on the polemics of living and reconciling with a person whose singular passion does not flow in conjunction with either society or family. The film continues to show how Glen Small, through ego and intellectual pride burning almost all the bridges in his life. In the present day, he is struggling to pay off an immense credit card debt and has a sole building contract with a family that is more then skeptical of his unconventional approach to design. His three wives, a handful of girlfriends and his five children have all moved away from him and this film acts as a sort of reconciliation for him and his filmmaker daughter.

Although the documentary works on an emotional level, it would have been interesting to explore the complexities of Mr. Small’s actual work. In an age where environmental consciousness is coming back en-vogue, his ideas about eco-friendly living are worthy of re-examination. His designs really spark imagination and it’s hard to watch a man of such obvious talent being swept under the rug. It almost seems as if it’s his fate to be consistently misunderstood or largely ignored. Unfortunately, the film never really scratches the surface of Mr. Small’s mind and his theories are never explored in detail. Also, the drab cinematography does no justice to Mr. Small’s sensuous drawings or the intricacies of his structural prowess.


The DVD has several interesting extras including an emotional interview between Lucia and her father. Also included, is a short film from the 1970’s of Glen introducing the bio-metric biosphere and an interview with his self-proclaimed arch rival, fellow architect Thom Mayne. The photo gallery is a major highlight on this disc as it allows the viewer to fully explore the works of this eccentric architect at their own pace. The Sundance spot and a trailer for one of Glen’s projects are interesting, but rather redundant. Overall, clocking in at 84 minutes the disc feels a little light. It would have been great to have more information on other projects that Glen worked on, as well as more drawings, designs and models which, by looking at the warehouse full of projects he had in the film, seem to be readily available.

Kudos to New Yorker video for releasing this film, because if anything else this further promotes the documentary-form being capable of something personal, other then sensationalistic case studies. The film is reflective, meditative and intriguing. Anyone interested in futurism, eco-architecture or environmentalism should check this out.

Movie rating – 4

Disc Rating – 3.5