Intrigued by the title I decided to watch this film without reading the description. I knew nothing save that it was a documentary. It could have been about a great many things as the title gives no hint whatsoever as to the story that will be told. It is about an artist from New Orleans who has had a successful life practicing his craft own his own terms.

We come to meet and learn about Johnny Donnels a well known painter and now photographer who appears completely happy and satisfied with his life and the choices he's made.

It's almost a story of a man who has made no mistakes and has no regrets. We see a wonderful example of how if you have faith in yourself, you are bound to excel.

Still alive, the director uses Johnny to tell his own story and his friends, associates and family also add commentary.

This technique really brings any story to life and it works well here. Being able to capture someone being natural in their own environment is essential to good documentary making. Again the director has succeeded in this regard and perhaps even a bit too much so, as I often could not understand the at times heavy New Orleans accent of the commentators - particularly Johnny.

Slow moving in its look I think the director captured the long easy-going days that are Johnny's life today. His use of old photos provided the necessary visuals to illustrate Johnny's young life not only making the film more interesting to watch, but also properly rounding it out.

Told simply, the documentary also works well because it is a very simple story. Had the director opted for an elaborate relaying of this information I would have been bored.

I also was thankful that he stuck closely to the story he was telling. Johnny went to war but we were not inundated with how people felt about the war or how they felt about his going, or anything like that. It was important to mention that he had gone, because that was a driving force in how he later decided to live, so the audience was just given that specific information.

I know that editing is one of the most difficult tasks in filmmaking, particularly documentary filmmaking because the creators get very attached to the information they've collected and find it heartbreaking to omit pieces that are amusing or where there is an interesting comment. But it always makes for a much tighter easier to follow and thus more enjoyable film when these scenes areleft out.

An inspirational story particularly for artists, I would recommend Pink Satin Suit. And just in case something in the title led you think so, I feel forced to add that it has no homosexual element.

Cathy Stovell