Eero Saarinen was a starchitect before the term had been invented: his most iconic works, including the TWA terminal and the St. Louis Gateway Arch, have permanently enhanced the public realm. But he was also inadvertently savvy when it came to his personal life; after divorcing Saarinen was so dedicated to his career that his children from his first marriage resented him for emotional abandonmenthis first wife, he married his lover Aline, a prominent architectural critic who wrote a career-boosting cover story about him in The New York Times Magazine in April 1953. A man who once walked into an empty office at 8am demanding, “Where is everybody?” only to be informed that it was Christmas, Saarinen was so dedicated to his career that his children from his first marriage resented him for emotional abandonment until well after his early death at age 51.

But that’s merely the outline which this 68-minute film lusciously fills in. Langorous, swooping drone footage of many of Saarinen’s works is genuinely mesmerizing, and the soundtrack by Moby is a perfect accompaniment. The voice-over narration (Peter Franzen speaks text presumably written by Eero Saarinen, while Blythe Danner provides the voice for Aline) could have easily become cheesy, but the effect is not overused, and actually enhances one’s appreciation of each of the buildings profiled in the film. It’s helpful that the film threads multiple interviews, projects, and visual techniques together so that at no point during the chronological narrative does the pace lag or the sense of aesthetic wonder wither.

Eero’s son Eric serves as both the director of photography and the documentary’s reserved emotional through line, occasionally appearing on film to describe his frustrations, his discoveries, and his ultimate renewed appreciation of his father’s work. Much like the Louis Kahn documentary, “My Architect: A Son’s Journey,” the themes of complex father and son relationships drive the narrative, but in this case they span multiple generations. Eero Eliel was quietly bitter and resentful about his son’s successSaarinen was the son of Eliel Saarinen, a famous architect in his own right who competed against his son to design the St. Louis Arch. When a telegram came to the office where both men worked, announcing that “E. Saarinen” had won the competition, everyone assumed the elder man was the victor. A three-day celebration ended when it was revealed that it was Eero, not Eliel, who had actually won the competition. According to Eric, while many assumed that the father would be proud of his son’s accomplishments, Eliel was quietly bitter and resentful about his son’s success. With this family history, perhaps it’s not that shocking that Eero had so little time for his own children.

This chilly, hyper-competitive family drama is thankfully subsumed by the inspiring designs themselves, including Eero’s sculptural furniture. The film also offers an intimate glimpse into Eero’s affair and then marriage with Aline. In a Roman numeral numbered love letter, Eero writes to Aline “that you were fantastically efficient” and that “you have a very very beautiful body.” Aline is treated both as the love of Eero's life and his intellectual equalAline is treated both as the love of Eero's life and his intellectual equal: there’s footage of her after Eero’s death explaining the concepts behind his (then) newly opened main terminal of the Dulles International Airport.

With its unusual warmth and accessibility, the documentary would feel perfectly at home on public television, but that’s part of its charm. Those who know Eero Saarinen’s work will enjoy being able to glide through his buildings without the stale pixelation of a computer rendering, while those who have yet to discover him can enjoy an excellent, fully-rounded introduction.

Eero Saarinen: The Architect Who Saw the Future (dir. Peter Rosen) will be screened at the Architecture and Design Film Festival in New York on its opening night, September 28. It premiers on the American Masters program on PBS this December.