Time Out DVD Review, 4/6 Stars.
The admirably adventurous Second Run label has done it again and unearthed a gem largely forgotten in this era of mega-budget overkill. This time the treasure in question is the no-budget 16mm journal of the titular cinephile, shot mostly as straight-to-camera monologue in NYC in 1967 - the summer of love, but not for Holzman, whose Godard-like desire to keep capturing his lover on film put paid to their relationship; what we see are the director-cameraman-confessor's miserable attempts to win her back. All very honest, then - save that the whole thing was a lie, with LM Kit Carson (now a cult hero to some) playing Holzman, Mike Wadleigh (who went on to make 'Woodstock') operating the camera and director Jim McBride - later known for conventional fare like the 'Breathless' remake and 'The Big Easy' - relishing the opportunity to parody the vérité bunch with one of the very first mockumentaries.


McBride himself can be seen not only in a recently shot, entertaining and illuminating interview but also in 'My Girlfriend's Wedding', another confessional piece made to double up with 'Diary' and give punters their money's worth. Again, as McBride's anonymous English girlfriend comments on the contents of her handbag prior to marrying a Yippie for Green Card purposes, the raw, naked truths revealed are both startling and suggestive of a very different moral universe - except that this time they're for real, which makes them even more frightening!

- Geoff Andrew

Uncut Magazine, 4/5 Stars.

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Sight&Sound.

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