May 15, 1871. The French poet Rimbaud writes a letter to Paul Demeny stating “Je est un autre”. When Bob Dylan comes across that letter he finds the true essence of his self.

“I’m not there”, the movie by Todd Haynes is a creative attempt of portraying those many lives of Bob Dylan. Based on the concept of “not being Bob Dylan” (his true name is Robert Allen Zimmerman), the director builds the musician’s biography based on six different characters:

• Arthur Rimbaud (Ben Whishaw), the poet, a narrator/commentator testifying about his choices and ideas;
• Woody Guthrie (Marcus Carl Franklin), an 11-year-old black boy, the north-american folk communist “Dustbowl balladeer”;
• Jack Rollins (Christian Bale), the protest singer and Christian Dylan of the end of the 70s;
• Robbie Clark (Heath Ledger), the eccentric musician unhappy at love;
• Jude Quinn (Cate Blanchett), the drug addict and folk tradition traitor; and
• Billy the Kid (Richard Gere), the outlaw, the outsider Dylan.

A movie about searching for an ultimate identity by analysing different alter-egos.

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