madevividbyattentiontodetailsofthemilieu.VanderElsken’scamera
poresovertheparticularsofclothing,interiorsandfaces,capturingthe
innatetheatricalityofhisfriends.Theirgesturesandmannerismsareso
archlyself-consciousthatitisasiftheyarepermanentlyperforming,
smoothingthebook’spassagebetweendocumentaryandfiction.When
Picture PostserializedthestoryforBritishaudiencesitannounced:‘This
isnotafilm.Thisisareal-lifestoryaboutpeoplewhodoexist’,butthe
78 truthwassomewhereinthemiddle.^33
66 Spreads fromWilliam Klein,Life Is
Good and Good For You in New York:
Trance Witness Revels(London, 1956).
