Being John Smith

After enduring many decades of embarrassment, John Smith finally admits that possessing the most common name in the English-speaking world has had a negative impact on his sense of self.

John Smith is a name that designates no one. Or rather a name that refers to anyone and everyone. Admittedly, a very banal initial observation but the filmmaker, who is his film’s namesake through no choice of his own, seems to find it punishing. What is this name borne by so many other people and how is a peaceful existence possible when what designates us in the first place designates no one? Although the fear of getting lost in the anonymity of an Internet flooded with John Smiths from the world over seems surmountable to the supremely ironic filmmaker, retracing his life presents a heavier, deeper challenge. John Smith rolls out an autobiographical story whose double game lies in the method: the filmmaker accompanies his archive images with a rigorous yet humorous commentary and propels his quest for identity through confessions and anecdotes. The spoken text creates a dissonance with what the images show: the identity of the film, like that of the filmmaker, takes shape as it advances. An impersonal hero he may be, but he is present to the things he experiences, confident of his political stances and the choices and commitments he has made.  Effortlessly, but like a film retracing a life, the narrative becomes infused with a testamentary atmosphere. Yet, the impending disappearance is basically also that of everyone. Starting with the greatest number, the Common People, and moving towards the most intimate, John Smith takes back ownership of his name and stakes his claim to this elusive commonality that fleshes out the fabric of ordinary lives. The image will remain as proof and an enduring presence.
 
Clémence Arrivé Guezengar