CREATIVE PEOPLE GET THEIR CREATIVITY FROM the right side of their brain. I should know because I consider myself to be a creative person. Any decisions I make first utilize the right side of my brain before filtering over to the left side to add logic into the decision. For example, when I walked into the attic of my house and saw a hole in it, which explained the wet spot on my dining room ceiling, I did not immediately think I needed to patch the hole up. I first thought about hiring someone to fill the hole with glass bricks to bring natural light into the attic. Next, I wondered if I could install an attic fan into the hole to draw out the stifling air from summer. Those were my two thoughts before the left side of the brain kicked in and I ran to call the insurance company. Some people have a challenging time using both parts of the brain; hang around a group of actors and you will understand. I am not saying either way is good or bad, I just mean challenges can develop from the situation. For me, when I am baking a dessert, the instructions must be exact. If they are not, I will stop and wonder what the author is trying to say and usually come up with a variety of ways that may not necessarily work for the recipe. My example is, a “pinch.” How much is a pinch? Do you see what I mean?      THERE HAVE BEEN INCIDENTS WHERE I have had to force myself to use both sides of my brain at the same time. I was hospitalized with a case of E Coli some time ago. While I was on the road to recovery, I had to work on my new class sessions. Trying to create physically challenging formats for the members to follow while not feeling well was rough for me. My mind wanted to work on the exercise routines, but my body was not in shape to undertake such a thing. I wound up drawing out the movements to match the beats of several different songs, then would do the leg and arm movements while seated in a chair. I had to watch and monitor my fatigue level and many times just imagine the movements in my head. It was hard to stay on the beat, so I had to count them out as well. With my limited experiences, I am in total awe of what the main characters tried to achieve in this heartfelt, Oscar nominated biographical music documentary.      AS MUSICIAN JON BATISTE SETS OUT to create a symphony that will be debuted at Carnegie Hall, his life partner, writer Suleika Jaouad, begins her journey with cancer treatments. How will each be there to support the other? Directed by Matthew Heineman (A Private War, City of Ghosts), this film had scenes filled with a variety of celebrities such as James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Questlove, Lenny Kravitz and Jonathan Dinklage. Having had very little exposure to Jon Batiste, I was enthralled with Jon’s creativity. The story is such an intimate one and the director did a beautiful job of never having the camera work come off as an intrusion. The story itself is incredible; to see such opposing forces as cancer and musicmaking vying to be in the forefront added a level of tension as the story unfolded. Creating and presenting a new symphony in the way Jon wanted to do it was already a huge undertaking; then add in Suleika’s medical issues and I cannot see how someone could not be drawn into the story. I also feel one does not have to be a fan of Jon’s style of music to appreciate what transpires in this lovely documentary.

3 ½ stars