One summer night in 1978 I was sitting at the bar in the Kettle of Fish on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village. Mars, the bartender, and I struck up a conversation. His contribution included stories about the bar back in the early 60s when Bob Dylan, Dave von Ronk, Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and others would gather there. You know, tidbits like the street corner (across the street) where Dylan had played and that Dylan's favorite place to sit there was in the booth down in the back. I drank and smoked and hung on every word while periodically drifting off into daydreams I don't remember the details of  … But I’m still smiling just thinking about it now.

I haven’t thought about my few times at the Kettle of Fish in many a decade, until I heard about a new film, “A Complete Unknown,” that traced Bob Dylan’s early years from his arrival in NYC in '61 to the 1965 Newport Folk Festival at which his electric guitar blew the minds of many of the folkies in attendance, not to mention Pete Seeger and the lot who put it all together. Dylan was warned to stick with his acoustic guitar just like he had the two years prior, but he was movin' on whether other people wanted him to or not. And thank his muses for it!

I heard the actors portraying Joan Baez (Monica Barbero), Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) learned to both sing like the musician/songwriters they were to portray while playing guitar and other instruments. Chalamet, who had never played guitar or harmonica before, particularly interested me. I’d seen him on the Graham Norton Show, a fun and interesting talk show across The Pond, promoting the film and his journey that led to his exceptional, seemingly channeled portrayal of a young Bob Dylan; in voice, the way he played the guitars, in appearance. Phenomenal. Absolutely phenomenal.

Imagine my delight as I was formatting the Harbor Theater press release for print, that the film would run for not one, but two weeks. I knew I would be at the opening night show last week, and I may have to go again before it leaves our incredible theater.

The opening of the film is layered, appropriately with Woody Guthrie singing “Dusty Old Dust” – an appropriate homage to the man, songwriter and musician Dylan was inspired by. Dylan goes to New York City and then to New Jersey where Guthrie (Scoot McNairy, who kinda resembled the man himself) is hospitalized with Huntington’s disease, which had already stolen his voice. Pete Seeger is there and asks Dylan to play an original song, if he had any. And he plays his “Song to Woody.” Both Guthrie and Seeger are impressed. And I’m sure everyone who was at the Harbor Theater this past weekend will tell you – Chalamet is convincingly Bob Dylan in this scene, and all others. I was transfixed from this moment on.

Monica Barbero’s portrayal of Baez is truly perfection. She, too, learned to play guitar and sing like Baez, who Barbero spoke with, one time, by phone. The relationship we all know about between these two folk, protest singer-songwriting musicians is palpable between the actors. Baez was already a well established performer when they meet. And in the scene where Dylan first hears her perform he’s impressed as much by her talent as the woman herself. These two actors will blow you away – and when they sing “Blowin’ In the Wind” I cried. It reminded me of Dylan and Baez during the 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour. I actually saw them singing that song – and yeah, I cried at the concert, too. When you have the chance to see two performers whose music has been part of your life, whose passion for their lyrics and music you admire, well, that moment, and the emotion it evokes, is forever etched in memory.

Edward Norton is so believable as Seeger and the concert performance scene demonstrates his dedication to portray the beloved protest singer-songwriter is true. Oh, and check this out: All of the instruments and mics are of that era. Norton actually played a guitar that belonged to Seeger. And the guitars Chalamet plays are all specially made Gibsons to produce the same sound they had back then. Director James Mangold’s passion for this project is deep and true. Plus, Dylan himself read the script – and had many notes for him.

Elle Fanning plays Dylan’s girlfriend, Sylvie Russo (real name: Suze Rotolo, but changed by Dylan). Her character is the woman on the cover of “The Freewheelin Bob Dylan” LP. Sylvie Russo is the heart of this biopic; Dylan’s muse, his first girlfriend. Their relationship is woven in and around the film. Dylan’s fame continues to rise and Sylvie’s suspicions about his relationship with Baez grow too hard for her to ignore. When Sylvie returns from Italy early she attends a performance and it is there that she not only sees, but senses the connection between Baez and Dylan. Her heartbreak is evident even before the tears begin to fall. Their tender farewell at the bus station, where Sylvie asks him to come with her … is intimate and emotional. He cannot go with her and she knows that. But a woman in love still has to ask ...

Fast forward to the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Promoters, folk music fans, protest singers, notably Seeger, had heard rumors about Dylan having been playing electric guitar. Which was just fine, just not there. And we all know how that turned out. And 60 years later, our life journeys continue, accompanied at one time or other with a "Dylan soundtrack."

“A Complete Unknown” continues at the Harbor Theater Jan. 22 – 30. The theater is located at 185 Townsend Ave. in Boothbay Harbor.