by CHRIS BARRY

Way out in Buenos Aires lives a very special man. And while yes, it's true, he is mentally challenged, in the eyes of many, this man is a musical messiah whose group, Reynols, is without question the true path to both musical and spiritual enlightenment. Argentinean director Néstor Frenkel's film, Looking For Reynols, is a study into this phenomenon known as Miguel Tomasin, an egomaniacal dude with Down's syndrome who, at 26 years old, was shipped off to an Argentinean music conservatory. He ended up impressing his instructors so much that they collectively decided to quit their day jobs in order be in his band, Reynols. I kid you not.

"In Reynols' music, there is no composition, no rehearsals, no melodies, and no songs," says Frenkel, who, while claiming not to be a huge fan of experimental music, is nevertheless fascinated by Reynols as an art statement. "Everything they do is related to a primal impulse. Their most important and valuable aspect being the communication shared among band members at the moment they're playing their instruments.

"Miguel's creative freedom is absolute. He might play drums and sing and then stop, he might bang on his keyboard, recite in an incomprehensible language or even broadcast a soccer game. He can perform all the above at the same time, as if he were a satellite capturing all kinds of information and then giving it back in small fragments. This originality and authenticity are inevitable conditions for Miguel."

Genius or gibberish?

Possibly, I suppose. But another way one might choose to describe Reynols' "music" is that it often sounds very much like a mentally retarded person banging on their favourite cooking pot while howling free-form gibberish at the moon.

Which is, of course, what makes Looking For Reynols such a compelling film. I mean, what's the deal here? Is there really something to Tomasin and his vision, or are all these Argentinean dudes who speak of him with such Christ-like reverence totally delusional? Or better, could it all just be a wonderful joke at the expense of pompous musical avant-garde arty types? I know I suspected the film might have been an elaborate hoax for at least the first half hour of it, a reaction Frenkel claims is apparently not all that uncommon.

"Yes, this is a sensation they are used to causing," he explains. "But on the other hand you have all these people, like Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth, for example, who regard Reynols as geniuses. These advanced artists perceive Miguel as a visionary. I believe the creation of myth is truly an important aspect to Reynols. It's interesting to watch their legend continually evolve through people's reaction to them. Everyone sees something different in them and their myth grows and takes new forms with what each person sees, or believes to see, with what each person understands, or believes to understand."

Corky's competition

When asked if given all the time he's spent around one of the world's most celebrated retarded genius, if he too might have fallen under the spell of Tomasin, Frenkel's response is deliberately vague. "All I can assure you is that Miguel is one of the nicest people I know. I've never seen him in a bad mood or without energy to do something. And yes, I believe he's a very interesting artist - certainly one of a kind."

Hold on a minute, not so fast there, Néstor Frenkel. There's at least one other musical icon born with Down's syndrome who writes his own songs, leads his own band, and is still producing gems like "Eating is Fun", "Bingo Bongo" and "Hot Diggity Dog." And that man is former Life Goes On star Chris "Corky" Burke, who, incidentally, was making "challenging" music long before the Argentinean competition came along.

"Chris Burke?" responds Frenkel, "Oh yes, I didn't like that show Life Goes On at all. But I had absolutely no idea he made music. That's great. I'll definitely make sure to seek his work out on the Web."

Looking for Reynols and Zev Asher's What About Me: The Rise Of The Nihilist Spasm Band screen Friday, Dec. 17 at the Goethe Institute, 418 Sherbrooke E. For more info, call 499-0159

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