True Films 3.0 - Kevin Kelly

Jupiter’s Wife
A sophisticated New York City filmmaker meets a homeless woman in
Central Park, and finds her to be unusually smart, vivacious, and seemingly
happy to camp year-round with her dogs. How does she get by
with so much enlightened contentment? It’s soon obvious the attractive
woman is certifiably crazy, operating on another plane of reality. Voices
tell her she is Jupiter’s wife. But rather than flee, as any sane person
would do, the filmmaker decides to unravel her story. He does this by taking
her irrational claims as coded messages which he learns to interpret
from her outrageous clues. He uses his investigative skills in New York
to piece together her submerged life, and he then tells the fascinating
story she is no longer capable of telling. It is a remarkable achievement.
Although he tries to help her, in the end she returns to the park. But the
film completely changed my understanding of what the voices say to the
afflicted: they are a code that tries to explain. In the middle of the film
you’ll want to bail because you are completely focused on someone’s
derangements, but its worth hanging through to the conclusion as the
filmmaker completes his amazing decipherment.
By Michel Negroponte
1995, 78 min.
Available from Amazon
Rent from Netflix
Sometimes the voices come from a transistor radio clipped to your
headband (above). They are clearer and easier to hear that way. In
addition to many layers of clothing, Jupiter’s wife also packs all her
belongings in a huge backpack, rather than a shopping cart, giving
her the aura of a long-distance camper. Her one dog grew into many
dogs very quickly.
95