In his artfully crafted documentary, Patti Smith: Dream of Life, first time filmmaker Steven Sebring does more than try to drum up a little publicity for the aging punk rock legend. Considering her 2007 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, legions of die-hard fans around the world, and the fact that she is consistently cited as an inspiration for the generation of rockers who emerged in the 1980s, the 60-year-old "Godmother of Punk" has all the publicity she needs.

Sebring admirably devoted twelve years of his life to this project and after sitting through the film it becomes clear that his attempt to capture the enigmatic singer was an ambitious one indeed. Patti Smith: Dream of Life should at the very least be considered a brilliant failure. To try and fully document such a larger-than-life personality as it fluctuates over a significant period of time would have been all but impossible to achieve.

Where Sebring does excel, however, is in conjuring up the era(s) over which the film spans and in creating a distinctly wistful visual style for the film. Shot mostly in grainy black and white 16mm, and with heavy use of slow motion and soft focus imagery, Dream of Life does have a certain mesmeric quality. Additionally, it would have been a difficult feat for any director to cut back and forth between recent footage, footage shot in the 90s, and older material that was filmed in the 70s. It is Sebring’s meticulous eye (his background in fashion photography couldn’t have hurt), coupled with the commendable editing skills of Angelo Corrao and Lin Polito, that create a visual rhythm that takes the place of a more conventional chronology.

The dream-like look and feel of the film is further achieved by dropping the viewer into several scenes in mid-action or mid-conversation. Through the exclusion of context, these scenes do take on a hazy air that can become frustrating to anyone anticipating a typical rock doc. Heavy on style and light on structure, Patti Smith: Dream of Life is personal without being intimate. To say that the film is non-linear would be an understatement. Nevertheless, the highly stylized transitions do help to keep the quieter private moments from looking like mundane "celebreality" fare.

Sebring allows the audience a few fleeting looks into Smith’s home, travels, family, politics, music, poetry, artwork, her most prized possessions, and fondest memories of bygone days. Smith alludes to her humble Midwestern roots, heady days at CBGB, and the sorrow of having outlived too many loved ones. She is shown venturing back into the limelight after a fifteen-year hiatus in Detroit, during which time she raised a family and lost a husband. Intellectual yet childlike, she remains open to inspiration from the world around her. A bit of a dilettante, the film explores more than Smith’s music but also her experimental films and painting projects. Sebring also devotes an ample amount of the film’s running time to Smith’s recent political involvement as an anti-war activist-- speaking and performing at peace demonstrations.

At times, Dream of Life closely resembles cinéma-vérité of the 1970s. I found some of the domestic scenes in which Smith gathers her belongings into a small corner of her stately-cum-decrepit home particularly reminiscent of Grey Gardens–the 1975 documentary by David and Albert Maysles. If a detailed chronicle of eccentricity is what you’re looking for, this film is just about the pinnacle. Grey Gardens captured the reclusive "Big Edie" Bouvier-Beale and her daughter "Little Edie," the aunt and first cousin of Jackie Kennedy-Onassis.

Patti Smith’s family life, in stark contrast to the Bouvier-Beale girls, can only be described as truly refreshing. The tender moments shared between Smith, her parents, and her two children are almost shockingly normal in their quirkiness. Seeing Smith’s affectionate interactions as both daughter and mother make for a fascinating comparison with her frenzied stage persona. Several of her awe-inspiring onstage performances are featured throughout the film. These musical interludes showcase Smith in her natural element and act as the glue that holds the film together.

Grey Gardens it is not, but for Smith’s true-blue fans the questions about the artist that are left unanswered will be compensated for by the superb cinematography and music. The aforementioned dreaminess of it all makes for an entirely impressionistic film. While the audience cannot examine every facet of Smith’s being, these individual impressions can be assembled into something closer to the real woman than what might have been achieved by more straightforward interview based or fly-on-the-wall tactics. Sebring’s painterly portrayal of Smith is indeed more difficult to decipher, but ultimately it is also more sincere.

Through Sebring’s lens, the viewer enters Smith’s dream world. These intermittent reveries weave through time and space revealing Smith’s free-spirited nature. With a running time of 1 hour and 50 minutes, I’ll admit that some of the self-consciously dreamy transitions grow tiresome. The film itself might meander and become lost in its own dreamscape but it also offers a rare peek into the private life of an elusive musical genius. Still busting with life and charisma, the fiery Smith proves a fascinating subject. Despite all of its shortcomings, for Patti Smith fans out there, Dream of Life is a dream come true.