Intro:
When we held the Atlanta SMiLE Gathering II back in May of 2004, the big surprise was our guest from Copenhagen, Denmark - one Rasmus Skotte. Rasmus had called a few days earlier to let us know that he was flying in from Europe and would be showing us his SMiLE film! Of course with SMiLE conversation being the real main event at the SMiLE Gathering, I didn't get to really view the film in its entirety. Lucky for me that Rasmus was in town for another day, so we scheduled a private screening at my home. As we watched the film, I furiously made notes, both for the review and for interview questions for Rasmus.

Note: This review will rely on my original notes, so it will be basically a quick summary of the film with my later comments inserted. Plus we used the miracle of modern technology which allowed me to "grab" a few images while the film was playing (gotta love that Snappy - great program!).

FILM INTRO

Right: Darian talks about the film

Right: David Leaf in front of the 'Kingdom of SMiLE Flag'

REVIEW AND SYNPOSIS OF FILM

The DUMB ANGEL FAIRY TALE is a fantasy film that combines the music of SMiLE with the music and story of MOUNT VERNON AND FAIRWAY (The Beach Boys Bonus EP with "Holland"). I will present the lyrics from MOUNT VERNON along with a listing of the songs used.

Right: The SMiLE Shop

SONG: PRAYER

The opening scene showsa radio shop that looks just like the SMiLE shop on the original album cover. Inside you see radios on shelves and counters. The camera pans to one of the shelves where there is a framed photograph. A close up to picture shows that it is a class picture from school. It slowly turns from black & white into colour. Opening title of film, "Dumb Angel a Fairy Tale" is shown on the screen. The camera pans above a model of a town.

Right: John

SONG: MT. VERNON AND FAIRWAY-THEME

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
There was a mansion on a hill. But deep in a secret kingdom where a young prince lived. He had four sisters and four brothers.

John and his brothers and sisters stand outside their home. Camera pans above over a model of the school.

SONG: LOOK

A scene on a playground is shown in which several of the characters are introduced. Standing around John are the three henchmen.

Right: Margarita

Right: John's brother Henry

The character of the beautiful Margarita is introduced. She is chatting with Henry-John's younger twin. Henry is slightly overweight and displays body language that is not as confident as John. (SMiLE trivia-Henry's name is taken from the "rock me Henry" version. The camera pans to John. The story subtitles say that John was told by his mother to tone down his warm relationship with Margarita-it was not appropriate.

Camera pans to Henry and Margarita sitting under a tree talking. John is obviously annoyed that the two are getting along so well and that Henry is now interested in Margarita.

A ball is being thrown around the playground. Henry knocks John's glasses off. John gives a knowing look to one of the henchmen, who throws the ball into Henry's face, causing blood.

SONG: FIRE INTO (BELLS & WHISTLES)

Henry goes into a restroom to wash the blood off.

SONG: FIRE (MRS. O'LEARY'S COW)

John & the henchmen go into the restroom and the henchmen start to rough-up Henry. John then walks over to Henry. Margarita walks in to see what is happening. She shoves one of the henchmen as they leave and shoots John a disgusting look.

The next scene occurs the next day.

SONG: CHILD IS THE FATHER TO THE MAN

SONG: HOLIDAYS

John walks through a carnival & out into the country. He passes some girls on the path, walking their horses. They see John and bow. This is where you first become aware of his regal status.

SONG: DO YOU LIKE WORMS

John's secret path leads to his secret place - an old, rusted hearse. This is where John thinks. He takes a gun out of the back seat. While eating he gazes at the field with binoculars where he sees a crow. Margarita and Henry are also walking nearby and hear a shot as John shoots the crow. John sees them approach and escapes. Camera shot of the dead crow.

SONG: CABINESSENCE

John is sitting in a chair at home, in a room full of all kinds of stuffed animals. He is obviously a hunter. John's mother enters, saying she wants to talk to him and she takes him for a drive. As they drive off, you see the SMiLE flags on the front of the car. After a while the Queen stops the car right outside their mansion.

The Queen tells John that his father is very ill. You get the feeling that she is preparing him to take his father's place as King.

Then there is a montage of very cool visuals, done in a music video format. There are flashbacks from previous scenes with the words "WHO…RAN…IRON…HORSE" placed between the various scenes at fast speed.

Back inside the house, the Queen demands John to marry his cousin. The Queen's reasoning is explained as Margarita enters - she is a simple housemaid and the Queen does not want her son to get involved with a lowly housemaid. Margarita brings in the tea, curtseys and leaves. John goes to his room…

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
The prince had a special bedroom on the ground floor with a window that looked down into a deep deep forest. He could see distant lights from other castles in the kingdom from his window. During the day he went to school. When it became night he stayed by himself, usually in his secret hidden bedroom. One night, while nearly everyone was asleep, he took out of the attic a radio and he decided to listen to it.

SONG: I'M THE PIED PIPER INSTRUMENTAL

The action is an excellent rendition, using all the visuals in the narration…

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
As soon as he turned it on, The wind outside of his room Stirred up for a few seconds.

SONG: WINDCHIMES

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
He thought to himself, "I'll climb out my window and go sit out there with my radio". Out the window he went, sitting against a small stump behind some flowerbeds. The light from his bedroom window he could still see. The music of Bach was playing. After a while it began to sound distant as the young prince gazed at this radio on his knee. The music was floating away from his hearing. What could be happening? He took it off of his knee and put the radio to his ear. Nothing happened.

Then the transistor left his hands and was floating in the mid-air two feet off the ground. As the prince laughed it suddenly turned around and it was light green phosphourous in color. Dancing back and forth, the magic transistor started moving down his path. He could hear the sound out like nothing he had ever heard before. The trees were getting closer together and flowers glowed with tinges of magic light as he followed thinking to himself, "What's going on?" The transistor lifted slowly up to the top of a little tree and sat there while it slowly became louder to where the prince could hear it clearly. Fireflies shot across the path in front of the prince. He turned around and couldn't see the light from his window. There he was watching all alone all by himself. He got a hunch to get back to his room and he turned and ran right back.

SONG: BETTER GET BACK IN BED

John brushes his teeth, then gets into bed…

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
Thirty seconds after he was in bed he fell back to sleep.

SONG: CHILD IS THE FATHER TO THE MAN (INSTRUMENTAL)

The clock next to John's bed moves in fast motion until the alarm rings…

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
The next morning he had forgotten all about what had happened the night before.

SONG: I'M IN GREAT SHAPE (DEMO)

John east breakfast and coughs along with the song.

SONG: OUT IN THE BARNYARD (DEMO)

At the chicken cages, John sees Margarita and hides observing her.

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
But when night time came once again his thoughts somehow found their way back to remembering the fascinating episode of the night before. He he turned out his bedroom light and sat in his favorite chair. Thoughts danced in his head for a while "Suppose I went to check and see if my transistor is still down there" he said "I wonder what would happen?".

SONG: MAGIC TRANSISTOR RADIO

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
He sat up in his open window Looking quietly down at the path. A firefly flew in his room and flew right out again. Down jumped the prince and he went again to find his radio. As he made his way he could hear something once again. There was that transistor up on the same tree. Then from inside of it came a strange voice.

SONG: I'M THE PIED PIPER

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
Hello I'm the Pied Piper from the far away land of Night. Nobody knows anything about my existence. I only want to know kids Late at night when people are sleeping. I go into their old radios and turn them into magic transistors And fly outside with them. I come from such a far away land of Night. I'm fascinated with the funny music I hear on your radios. You are the first to know of me. You can't see me I'm hidden. But you can see the green glow I make. I heard you laugh last night. I figured that you would be amused by me. Listen to this:

Right: Scene from the fantastic "Vega-Tables" video!

SONG: VEGETABLES

Comment: This is a bona-fide video for the song, with John blowing, drinking & chomping along with the song. He kicks a cabbage and loses his shoe. Excellent visuals and this show that SMiLE can make that jump to videos!

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
When the music died down the Piper said that "every night., After midnight if you leave your on your transistor radio. I'll promise to bring more magic music to you. No one" he said " will ever believe you so why tell of me to anyone? You are my only friend of night" said the Pied Piper "and I'll talk to you again some night".

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
The prince did try what the Piper said to do but for weeks at night he heard nothing like the music of that magic night. "That Pied Piper must have been joking" he said. "There's nothing but Bach on this radio. I'm gonna throw it back up in the attic for good". This he sat disbelieving the young prince so loud that two of his brothers overheard him. The next day those two brothers took the radio from the attic and turned it on.

Henry takes the radio and the next day in school he asked Margarita to meet him in the cantina later that day - he had a surprise for her.

SONG: WONDERFUL

Scene: In the cantina at the mansion.

Henry and Margarita dance.

SONG: HEROES & VILLAINS (INSTRUMENTAL SEGMENT)

Scene moves to John in his room.

John hears the radio and sneaks into the cantina - shocked to see the two together.

SONG: HEROES & VILLAINS (IN THE CANTINA)

John sits in the corner by the radio. Margarita finally sees him…

Suddenly, the Queen suddenly bursts in…

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
"What are you doing there? What is that you're listening too? Give me that radio at once" she said.

John stares at the Queen and walks out.

SONG: GOOD VIBRATIONS (THE LANGLEY SCHOOLS MUSIC PROJECT CHOIR)

The Queen screams at Margarita, telling her to stay away from her son. Margarita curtseys and walks out.

John is in his room, writing a letter by candlelight. He starts to see flashbacks of the time that he used to spend with Margarita.

John writes a letter in which he asks Margarita to run away with him.

The scene changes to the school class getting their photo taken (the same one on the shelf at the beginning of the film).

SONG: THINKIN' ABOUT YOU BABY (AMERICAN SPRING)

Back in the classroom, John walks by Margarita's desk, leaving her a book with the letter. But, the letter falls out before Margarita notices it. A classmate sees it and gives it to her since it is addressed "Dear M" on the outside.

Scene changes to John sitting in the hearse…John is waiting inside the hearse, filled with nervous expectations. He nervously looks at his watch.

Meanwhile, Margarita enters a church and prays. Then she visits a cemetery, placing flowers on a gravesite. Does this mean that Margarita's parents are both dead? Was she praying for guidance from them at the church and the cemetery?

Margarita shows up at the hearse. John sees her with his binoculars as she approaches. She slowly gets in the car. There is silence. What is her decision? Finally there are smiles!

SONG: BEEN AWAY TOO LONG

John & Margarita walk back to the mansion and the Queen sees them from a distance.

The two sneak into John's room and the two hold hands. Finally, Margarita kisses John on the cheek.

SONG: WATER CHANT

Suddenly, the Queen bursts in with a flashlight. She yells at Margarita, telling her she is fired!

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
A few days later the king and queen of the castle were invited to a ball.

Before they leave for the party, the Queen demands John to marry his cousin. After the Queen leave, John tells his brothers and sisters the secret about the radio and the Pied Piper. They agreed to help him find the radio.

SONG: WOODSHOP (PART OF)

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
The children's mother left and the children looked everywhere high and low checking to see if they could find that transistor radio. They couldn't find it they couldn't find it. They looked upstairs and Downstairs. All through the castle and finally all of a sudden they heard a sound.

The door opens slowly…

SONG: HEROES AND VILLAINS (JUST SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE)

The ominous figure of the guard enters holding a shotgun. The children all hide.

SONG: SURF'S UP (INSTRUMENTAL)

The guard finds them and phones the Queen at the party telling her that he has just seen John & Margarita together. The startled Queen demands that he gets rid of the servant girl! He promises to lock her up. Meanwhile, John is packing a suitcase.

SONG: SURF'S UP (BRIAN DEMO)

Back at the party, everyone is dancing…except the Queen. She looks worried. She calls over to the King and they leave, starting to drive back to the mansion. The Queen calls the guard yet again to find that he has locked them in.

Back at the mansion, John explains to the children of the Queens demand of him marrying his cousin. And he tells them of their plan to run away.

John places a picture of the SMiLE Shop in his suitcase, saying…We will meet again.

John hears the car pull up - John and Margarita hurry to escape…John is carrying a suitcase and pulls Margarita by the hand. The finally escape out of the house.

The Queen finds the notepad that John used to write the letter to Margarita. She takes a pencil, scribbling over it to show what was written. As she sees John's plan of running away, she looks shocked…

Scene changes to the forest, where you can see a green light of the magic transistor radio.

The couple stand in the clearing, holding hands and holding a suitcase. They are silhouetted with the green light of the radio with fog all around.

SONG: OLD MASTER PAINTER/YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE

Right: John inside the SMiLE Shop

Three years later - The Queen is walking down the street downtown. She comes to the SMiLE Shop. Inside, John is working. He is wearing a suit and now has short hair.

The Queen sees the radio in the window and smiles. We see John's face now - he has a very short beard now and wears no glasses. They see each other and embrace. Margarita enters and the Queen embraces her. John flips the "open" sign on the door to "closed".

The Queen walks out of the store with a bag. Margarita asks…about the Pied Piper. John replies…"It's in the bag!"

SONG: HEROES AND VILLAINS (MY CHILDREN WERE RAISED)

They all wave goodbye. John remarks that Mother will never know the difference. John didn't give his mother the magic transistor radio after all!

Outside, the camera pans from the view of the SMiLE Shop up to the sky.

John comments…I wish my old man could have seen this. Up in the sky is a vision of the smiling face of the King.

Scene changes to a green light in the forest…

SONG: MOUNT VERNON AND FAIRYWAY-THEME

[Narration from "Mount Vernon And Fairway"]
But if you have a transistor radio and the lights are all out some night Don't be very surprised if it turns to light green And the whirling magic sound of the Pied Piper comes to visit you

A house is shown at nighttime, with a green light in one of the windows.

SONG: BE MY BABY (THE RONETTES)

John and Margarita walk hand in hand through a golden field.

THE END.

FINAL COMMENTS AND AN
OPEN PLEA TO BRIAN WILSON:

The DUMB ANGEL FAIRY TALE is a remarkable mix of fantasy and music, placing the music of SMiLE into a magical context. The visuals are stunning and often surreal. The infusion of the "music video" into songs such as "Cabinessence" and "Vega-Tables" is breathtaking. By using the music of Brian Wilson to weave a story, words are not needed. The use of silent pantomime by the actors shows that this film has universal appeal.

The timing of this film could not be more apt, coinciding with the 37-year wait of SMiLE both in live performance and ultimately on an official record on September 28, 2004. It is a perfect testament to the timeless music of SMiLE (see Brian, it wasn't too far "advanced" for the public after all!) and the artistry of Brian Wilson.

The only problem is - how do you get this professionally made film out to the public, especially those SMiLE-hungry fans that really NEED to see it?! DAFT Productions really has their work cut out for them in overcoming the many hurdles to seeing an official release. They aren't in it for the money or they would have taken the "damned the torpedoes" approach and started selling the film in Europe.

First, there is the problem of getting permission to use the music, especially the original '66 & '67 SMiLE songs. Brian himself is bypassing this obstacle by releasing a new and completely re-recorded version of SMiLE. To be honest, I seriously doubt that Capitol will give sanction to this project. However…what if the film uses these re-recorded SMiLE tracks? Maybe that is one solution. The second problem is Brian himself - will he officially sanction this film?

The "intro" to the film gives a glimpse of the real appeal of this film. The most telling "review" comes from an anonymous fan (he said name, but I missed it) whose reaction can be glowingly seen on his face as well as his words. If this film can touch one Brian Wilson fan in such a way, it would be a true sadness that more could not share it.

Besides the normal "fan", the film is also reviewed by SMiLE-guru Domenic Priore - lending more cred to the validity of the DUMB ANGEL FAIRY TALE. If the film was BAD, Domenic would have said so as he is not one to mince words. Members of Brian's own band (Darian) have seen the film and even David Leaf, who is also working on a SMiLE documentary (to be shown on Showtime on October 5, 2004). Surely they have told Brian of this film?

It might seem that I am giving all the credit to the music and not to the filmmakers. Well, they deserve special attention for putting together such a stunning project. Truly a labor of love and mercy! This is really a remarkable film and hopefully will see some kind of "official" release.