Vonnegut remains such contradictory company. His harrowing observations of inhumanity, most famously in Slaughterhouse-Five’s first-hand descriptions of the bombing of Dresden, seemed to render him ever more goofy.

[Weide's] thoughtful approach largely fits a subject where sadness, cynicism, laughter and optimism jostle fascinatingly together.

It barely tries to assess the literary value of the author’s work, but it captures his good-humoured personality...

The chronological slipperiness works well not only thematically but practically for filmmaker Robert B. Weide, who captured Vonnegut on and off for last quarter-century of the author’s life.