One Fast Move Or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur

Film Synopsis

One Fast Move Or I’m Gone: Kerouac’s Big Sur
Director: Curt Worden
Year: 2008
Country: America
Duration: 97 minutes
Web: www.kerouacfilms.com


Jack Kerouac’s On The Road may have been his best known work, but for many the true Kerouac can be found in the pages of his 1961 novel Big Sur. Escaping both his own fame and increasingly destructive alcoholism, the beat author retreated to a small cabin on the California Coast south of San Francisco for six weeks, and it is this period that informs the novel. This beautifully realised film captures the majesty of the American countryside, evoking both the beauty that seduced the author and the creative and personal struggles that he experienced.

With contributions from some of Kerouac’s closest friends including Carolyn Cassady, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Joyce Johnson and David Amram, as well as fans including Tom Waits, Patti Smith, Amber Tamblyn, and Sam Shepard, the film offers a compelling and moving examination of Big Sur, Keroauc’s creative process and the effects of fame on the author.  

Australian Premiere

Screens with the short film The Coast