The Book of Harth

What is Harth getting out of this? Throughout The Book of Harth, the subject speaks of obsession, depression, and horrific migraines he gets while waiting for celebrities. He doesn’t name any celebrities he particularly appreciates, though he does mention that there are some well-known people he wouldn’t want signatures from. Harth says he’s not a religious person. The fact that neither the Bible nor the people signing it are of particular importance to him leads one to wonder if Harth isn’t essentially just seeking attention for himself.

The Holy Bible project joins a trend of art lately, particularly in film, where the artist uses the medium to focus attention back on themselves.  But, the artist as art is just not an interesting idea unless the artist is someone like Basquiat or Warhol. One must do something extraordinary before being worthy of an examination at that level. Harth’s art will stand as an odd memoir of the time that he… made the art.

“…the film is entertaining…”

Regarding whether the film is entertaining: it absolutely is. Viewers will be drawn in to see glimpses of celebrities caught on camera. Ironically, a film centered on conflating celebrity with religion depends on celebrity worship to get eyeballs on the material. Unfortunately, the exploration of fame and religion doesn’t go more than surface deep, which is too bad as there’s a wealth of discussion that could have been had. It is unsettling knowing that celebrities would not have had any say about being in the film because they were public figures in public places when they were filmed.

Harth has made himself the subject of a fascinating study of obsession with celebrity in the pursuit of his own narcissism. Guillet paints an uncomfortable picture. We are cringing while watching Harth insist on the importance of getting his autographs. While Harth’s art is opaque and suspect, Guillet’s is not. He’s made a documentary that provokes many questions and emotional responses. The Book of Harth is solid filmmaking.