Barefoot to Timbuktu, a wondrous Swiss-American documentary helmed by Martina Egi, is one of a select handful of films from recent years that have offered a nonstop dose of joy from beginning to end. A biographical portrait of Swiss-born artist, author, and social reformer Ernst Aebi, the movie chronicles Aebi's stunning life, from his childhood in Europe, through his successful attempts as a young man to support himself as a sidewalk painter and illustrator, to the fantastic business construct that brought him wealth in early-'70s Manhattan -- he bought a plethora of SoHo lofts at basement-level prices, picked up renovation materials from junkyards and off the street, renovated the spaces, and sold them at elevated prices, thereby almost single-handedly fueling the SoHo real-estate boom.
One of the chief emphases of this particular documentary, though (hence the title), is Aebi's legendary accomplishment just outside of Timbuktu, in Araouane, Mali. Aebi traveled to Araouane in 1987, and saw in that ramshackle desert oasis the potential for a small paradise. He then spent three years funneling his wealth into the renovation of the community -- not only implementing a massive garden, a hotel, and scores of other amenities that earned him the lifelong love and devotion of the native Malians, but actively teaching them administrative skills. Tragically, that nirvana began to crumble in the early '90s, given problems tied to a civil war and sand that engulfed the community, but Aebi didn't let it touch his spirit or his optimism.
That kind of attitude is infectious, and it turns this movie from a satisfying document on sociological reform into an irresistible masterpiece about a fascinating person. At times, the film seems structurally unformed, ambling along gracefully, but that raggedness suits its shaggy subject with something close to perfection, and the raw magnetism of Aebi's personality holds everything together, keeping us glued to the screen. There have been many intriguing characters at the center of documentaries before, but this guy takes the cake; his life philosophies are truly something to behold -- kernels of magnificent wisdom. "The best way to travel is to see a lot of a little," he says. And, "The only uncertainty in life is that nothing is certain." Through it all, he projects a die-hard ebullience, a willingness to seize life with both hands and create a magical reality for himself. At times, we scratch our heads in incredulous amazement about how his life has unfolded, as when he recounts how he met his first wife -- he simply tagged a random woman off the street to accompany him to a party, then married her and had four children with her, enjoying happy nuptials for several years. It's an anecdote, like many in this movie, that shows Aebi bounding over life's difficulties, laughing in the face of difficult odds, and making his way with a combination of frightening ingenuity and take-no-prisoners earnestness. At other times, we get the impression of a relentless quester, fearless in the Werner Herzog mode -- one who went where he wanted to go and sought out his own adventures. Details about the subject in this vein wax marvelously droll, such as his second wife's recollection that she met him while working in a photo-finishing lab, when he handed her a roll of film with sand in it and mentioned that he'd randomly been out in Nevada digging for gold.
The film's one and only palpable weakness is simply the fact that, at 86 minutes, it doesn't go on nearly long enough. Aebi is such a magnetic presence, and one senses so many different dimensions to him (the movie doesn't even touch on his authorship of books) that he could easily sustain a documentary for three or four hours. Upon seeing the movie, you feel instantly drawn to its visionary subject and not only want to be in his company, but to emulate his attitudes and philosophies.