Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel with the World

Best Documentary winner at the 1963 Oscars, Shirley Clarke’s study of Robert Frost offers an intimate look at the legendary American poet in public and private settings. Opening with comments from U.S. President John F. Kennedy at a ceremony honouring Frost, Clarke’s documentary captures her subject at the age of 88 as he shares his worldview, reflecting on war and peace, politics and poetry.

Footage of speeches to college students runs throughout the film, interspersed with moments where Frost recites his works - constructed scenes that prompt him to later observe to an appreciative audience "it is a false picture that presents me as always digging potatoes or saying my own poems".

Less