Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles

A filmmaker, captivated by Paul Bowles’ brilliance since the age of nineteen, explores the life of one of the 20th century’s most intriguing figures—writer, composer, and traveler Paul Bowles (1910-1999). Set against the striking backdrop of North Africa, Jennifer Baichwal’s poetic and evocative film, “Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles,” delves into the enigma of Bowles, renowned for his novel “The Sheltering Sky.” The film features rare, intimate interviews with the reclusive Bowles, captured both in his Tangier home and in New York during a remarkable final gathering with Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs. These interviews are interwoven with contrasting opinions from his admirers and critics. In his mid-eighties at the time, Bowles speaks with remarkable openness about his work, his controversial personal life, and his connections with figures like Gertrude Stein, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, the Beats, and his wife and fellow writer, Jane Bowles.