Critical Response to Salesman (1969) US. 85 min. by Albert and David Maysles

5/1/2020

The Documentary film Salesman is about the filmmakers brothers Albert and David Maysles tracking the working situations of four sales representatives in the area of Boston and Florida. Among these four salesmen, Paul is the major character of this film. It depicts how he attempts to sell the fancy, illustrated Bibles which were made by his company; the course of events when he tries to find out the addresses of the customers and to use various tricks to promote the Bible door-to-door to those clients who don’t show much interest in it. The film also records how he struggles with the dilemma of survival, yet always full of optimism when he can’t make a sale. 

The documentary Salesman in the 1960s has a great tragedy atmosphere. What is even more distinct about it is that this tragedy is deeply rooted in the vivid reality, which shows that the reality itself is the most poetic and unhidden theme. As an audience, what I perceived in Salesman is the narrative of the suffering of the middle class in the capital era and the idea of the dilemma of the Christian (Religious abduction) in the process of selling. These are suggested by looking at the realistic shots, without the filmmakers giving any guidance to the subject, just follow, record and discover, and it shows a different kind of image enhancement.

The conflicts contained in the Documentary Salesman are really not less than any other feature films: the protagonist sells the Bible, and the customers are devout believers; when the salesman is listing all the benefits of having a brand new Bible in home, those costumes are looking for an excuse to reject the offer. The company of the salesmen has a very typical corporate management rule; everyone would shout out the goals of the year at the meeting in the motel, regardless if everyone would believe the statement, sometimes not even themselves would believe in that announcement that they made for their own. Both the company meeting and the situation of the salesmen somehow shows the hypocritical, insecure feature of the industry. The salesman who cannot complete the task like Paul, will be surrounded by the feelings of

anxiety and anger because of the overwhelming force of the family or financial issues. It seems like the film is to discuss the predicament of the salesman, but in some ways it also presents a metaphorical contradiction of Christianity. Under close questioning the client if they are a devout congregation by the salesman, the film exudes a temperament of people being “kidnapped” by religion. The ironic part present here is that although they keep praising the profits of the Bible, God probably may have nothing to do with anyone at that point.

 

The film itself reflects salesman is an embarrassing and insecure profession. When the host of the sales conference discourse on faith, you give a talk about faith. But when you really do only talk about faith, the sales conference would make his point on sales with rhetorical questions. It is all about the result of how many sales a salesman can make. Therefore, as a sales  profession, it is just so easy to cause anxiety from work. The pressure of survival and the desire of being wealthy present in the film are very simple and explicit. The exhausted look after a day of working and the despair of the salesman, and the various refusing reactions and attitudes of the buyers: the devout catholics, the new immigrants family, young families on the verge of bankruptcy, and the middle class living in the past, all these factors in Salesman tell the suffering of the middle class in the capital era in the 1960s.

The way the filmmakers present the documentary also plays an important role to make Salesman so realistic to look at, which makes the audience perceive something more than a feature film. The lens design is strengthening the expression of the directors, and the editing is also sorting out the director’s ideas which is quite subjective. It is rare that in a documentary, all of the subjects, the people are not affected by the existence of the camera, which makes the film so smooth and natural to watch. Almost can compare to the feature movie. 

The salesman Paul comes with a play naturally in the documentary. The way he talks the trivial things with his coworkers brings a lot of humor to the film. He also directs the ups and downs of the movie: Setting off with a dream (to make more sales) every day when he goes out, humming in the car to keep himself optimistic, and coming back with confusion and self-doubt of the ability of m

aking sales. The documentary is like a bright knife, reflecting our lives and theirs. Although their lives are not depicted in the film, they are reflected in the process of the business promotion trip. Like their motel rooms are usually a bit messed up, and I assume they have family members would tidy up their room when they are home; they would smoke whenever they are thinking or when they feel stressed. It is also interesting to observe the shirts and ties that they are wearing, the car that Paul is driving, and the decorating of homes they have visited since they are all real without concealing anything. That is the aesthetic feelings that we look for in a documentary.

The aesthetic perception we gain from Salesman comes partly from the authenticity and partly from the natural, smooth narrative of the Maysles brothers. It explains how people at that time attempted to capitalize the soul by recounting the promotion of the Bible. In such a case, the moral of capitalization becomes more profound and something to think about. This is exactly the problem during the time when society meets the transition of laissez-faire capitalism.

 

https://letterboxd.com/film/salesman/

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/24/arts/salesman-documentary-maysles