Choreography for Plastic Army Men
Synopsis
This one-hour film focuses on the life of Walker Percy–a doctor turned writer and philosopher best known for his National Book Award winning novel, The Moviegoer. The documentary follows Percy’s attempt to overcome a fateful family history of suicide and despair, place and history.
The story flows from Percy’s youth in Birmingham–where he was first confronted by the streak of suicide that brought down his father and grandfather—to the horrors of World War II, to Percy’s
eventual success as a novelist. It also looks at the influence of William Alexander Percy and Walker’s life-long friendship with Civil War historian and novelist Shelby Foote.
Insights into this profoundly philosophical novelist’s life come from Robert Coles, Richard Ford, Walter Isaacson, Phin Percy, Jay Tolson, and many others.
