Director and screenwriter John Hughes (1950-2009) was undoubtedly one of my favorite filmmakers.I see him as a genuine artist whose movies have acquired new relevance through the decades, making me to today appreciate them not only as funny comedies or juvenile melodramas, but also as honest reflections on life, youth and the authentic meaning of maturity.By the way, my favorite movies from his filmography are Ferris Buller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club.

The producers and the director of the documentary Don't You Forget About Me also admired Hughes, and in 2006, they decided to undertake a peregrination from Canada to the city of Chicago in search of the revered filmmaker, who partially retired from the cinema despite the legions of fans who were begging for his come-back.So, during an hour and a half, we see the team looking for his idol in order to interview him, and maybe discover the reasons behind his voluntary exile.We parallel see interviews to actors who worked with him; to famous directors who were influenced by his work; and to modern teenagers who keep finding amusement and valid messages on the movies their fathers saw when they were young.

Hughes died in mid-2009, when Don't You Forget About Me was in editing process, something which significantly changed the tone from the documentary and it raised the emotions generated by the testimonies from his fans.It would be cynical (and realistic) to think that that morbid angle raised the financing and distribution from this documentary, but it includes so many interesting data and such emotive moments that I can ignore the commercialism from the project.Besides, I think the movie fulfills with the intention of honouring an important, but unfortunately not very famous, eminence from modern cinema.

What is more, it is very entertaining to listen to figures such as directors Jason Reitman, Howard Deutch and Kevin Smith and film critic Roger Ebert (pre-operation) talking about their personal experiences as fans, friends and critics from the filmmaker, not to mention first-hand anecdotes from Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy, Kelly LeBrock, Alan Ruck, Mia Sara and many others.All of them agree on Hughes' talent, the influence of his work in modern cinema and his famous artistic integrity.

However, Don't You Forget About Me has a few fails: on the one hand, the producers and the director make the mistake of assigning leading characters to themselves, something which feels unnecessary; and on the other hand some of the points the movie makes are repeated again and again ("Nowadays, nobody represents the teenagers in cinema"), something which also feels unnecessary.Nevertheless, I liked this documentary pretty much, mainly because of its sincerity and the impact it produces (I cannot deny the ending left me with a lump in my throat).In summary, Don't You Forget About Me represents a honest tribute to Hughes, which is something he really deserved.