Bill Cunningham New York

I loved this documentary! If you at all think you would enjoy it, make it a point to see it.

Obviously, if you love fashion, you'll enjoy meeting this man who so ardently loves fashion as well.

But what I admired so much about him was his generous and egalitarian spirit. It seems to me to be something truly special, and I was utterly charmed.

Bill Cunningham is a street photographer who writes a column for the New York Times. I've not often seen this column as I rarely have a print copy of the Times in my hand. (Sadly, this is part of what's lost in not having a print copy in your hand; you can read a specific article online but you can't enjoy the serendipity of discovery.) And, truly, I don't have his eye for fashion nor do I feel the excitement that he does about it although I do understand it. It is wonderful: exuberant and vital.

In the film, Cunningham says that fashion is the armor that we wear to protect ourselves, but also, obviously, it's a way that we express ourselves and that's wonderful. In this film, New York is where there are so many different people as well as so many people who love fashion and this film captures that.

The film shows Cunningham at work, both as a photographer and in designing the layout of his column at the Times. It was wonderful to see him at work, pairing two photos that had in common the same gesture captured in a photo taken on the fly. What I love about his photo spreads are the color, the composition, the freshness and immediacy. Of course, through his process of selection -- both in taking his photos, selecting photos for publication, and in arranging them -- his photo spreads are his self-expression, as well. This film captures his wonderful enthusiasm for design, and an unpretentious passion for people.