I Am Trying to Break Your Heart

(Sam Jones, US 2002, 92 min., 35mm)

Museum Treasures. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart was conceived as a documentary about the making of what became Wilco’s most popular album, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, but this film became a classic David and Goliath story where artistic integrity triumphs over crass commercial interests in every way possible. As fate would have it, award-winning photographer and first-time director Sam Jones captured a critical time involving seismic shifts in the structure and evolution of the band. You can call it a rockumentary or a drama, and for that reason, this movie appeals to die-hard Wilco fans and the uninitiated alike. This print, acquired by George Eastman House earlier this year, serves as a reminder of the museum’s wide-ranging moving image collection. Preceding the film, beloved local musician John Link will perform several acoustic renditions of Wilco’s songs in the Dryden lobby.

Afterward, we’ll move the party to Skylark Lounge (40 S. Union St.), where Link will perform with a full band. Special presentation by Ben Tucker, assistant collection manager and archival projectionist, Moving Image Department.