Kurt Cobain - About a Son
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Movie Reviews of Kurt Cobain - About a Son
Movie Review: It's like being with Kurt
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie was a moving experience; I took my son to see "About a Son" at an artsy theater in Chicago on his 15th birthday. Knowing we both enjoy Nirvana, I nonetheless braced myself for a grungy "sentimental journey." But then to our rapt enjoyment, this movie turned out NOT to be the typical "between the eyes" rockumentary crammed with repetitively familiar nostalgic imagery and dubbed in with music from the artist. In short this was not a nauseating musical rock video shrine. FYI - you don't see Kurt's or any band member's face. And you don't hear any music from Nirvana - and, you don't need to.
Instead, "About a Son" takes you through the Pacific Northwest, tastefully focusing on images that trace the words in Kurt's interview. I was very taken by the seamless "being there" feel of this film, as though the narration was in real-time with what was being shown visually.
All-in-all "About a Son" was highly-creative in combining fact with visual interpretation - and in doing so among the best "rockumentaries" I've watched. It is an interpretation of images, selected to match what Kurt was saying. You had a feel for him as a child and teen, his core family and the disintegration of it, for the deprivation he lived through, for the music he listened to, a discussion about babies and bottles, and some saddening foreshadowing of his suicide a year after the interview.
Would this movie stand on its own without knowledge and/or a fondness for Kurt Cobain and his music? Actually, I believe it would be interesting in and of itself - even if you had never known of Kurt - or never heard Nirvana's music. It is a warm yet subtle film about an interesting and likeable guy, whose immense creativity and drive sprang from humble and confining surroundings. Kurt would have liked "About a Son" for not being banal and obvious. The power is in its simplicity.
I just bought the DVD and I'm anxiously looking forward to another viewing on a smaller screen. Oh - also an interesting soundtrack works wonders without incorporating Nirvana's songs. My son and I waited to listen to Nirvana on the way home.
Movie Review: About a Son
Summary: 5 Stars
My formative years were The Grunge Years. I was the perfect age for this, coming into my teens with Nirvana and having Kurt Cobain be my patron saint. However, looking back on that time, perhaps the timing was just perfect for me as well as the rest of the world. I admired Kurt, but became disillusioned as time went on. He would die, and I and the rest of the Gen X kids grew up without him. It was a very special experience, as well as a haunting one to hear his voice from beyond the grave. What was even more haunting about this was the fact that we hardly see any images of Kurt in the movie, mostly stills of his hometown of Aberdeen and Seattle, and nameless people on the streets. Kurt was the voice of disillusioned youth that we see on the streets in this film, and in many ways still is.
Kurt tells us about his childhood, his teen years, his stomach, his becoming a musician, and his epic rise to fame. Who better to tell you than the man himself? Courtney Love, today the infamous tabloid queen she is, is barely in it (thank God), but will always be linked to Kurt and Nirvana's story, nor is Dave or Krist except for a brief mention or photograph here and there. The voice takes you into his world, making you feel like you are really there with him in his mind. His alienation and feelings of inadequacy really speak to the viewer, making you feel and understand so many things about him. There were so many conflicts and feelings to explore, too many to list here in a review.
And now, he's gone. He left us because ... Well, just because. He left behind his music, he was an artist, he touched people's lives, including mine. Kurt wanted to give us his statement, and his project ended up being the last great rock band to close out the twentieth century. The memories are wonderful, his music is timeless, and he lived by his own terms, and he was human instead of a god.
Movie Review: Too Much Filler
Summary: 5 Stars
First let me say that this is beautifully filmed so I guess it deserves 5 stars. The images of Seattle and environs could almost stand alone as visual commentary on real people of the Northwest. It serves here as a backdrop for a recorded interview with Kurt Cobain. When I got this I was hoping for rare footage of pre-fame performances, interviews with people who knew him along the way, etc. I am speculating that the producers of this film were unable to get the rights to any Kurt Cobain material other than the recorded interview. This is obviously a well-intentioned film, but for me it just didn't work, either as a tribute, or as a documentary. I was never a Nirvana fan but I like their music when I hear it. I had hoped this film would make me a believer. Without his music, or footage of him performing (or any footage of Kurt Cobain at all for that matter) etc., voice-over Cobain sort of comes off as a somewhat petulant, whiny individual, although his honesty is refreshing. I did get the sense from watching this that Kurt Cobain incarnated to be exactly who he turned out to be, and that luck notwithstanding, cream does rise to the surface. If you are already a Kurt Cobain fan this film may fill in some blanks. If not, you should look elsewhere for inspiration.Movie Review: Only the most obsessed and craven people will enjoy this.
Summary: 5 Stars
sit back and relax folks we are gonna listen to Master Cobain talk about his dragic and unbelievable life while watching pictures of the places he grew up and listening to bands that sound like Mogwai or some other band from way the hell over somewhere far.
above all though Kurt saves this dismal disgrace of journalism but the sincerity by the author of Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana Michael Azerrad isnt easily overlooked (he makes a cameo at the end).
this is a man that got to be friends with Kurt Cobain and talked with him on the phone until the wee hours of the night! and what you hear are those phone conversations that arent so private as to more revealing than anything else but he was writing a book about the band which looking back was when Kurt still lived (obviously) but only proves once more how truly amazing they were even in their own time and often thats not overlooked enough.
Movie Review: amazing
Summary: 5 Stars
it is a great opportunity to be able to hear something from Kurdt Cobane in which he was completely honest and clear. i heard that michael and kurdt used to talk from midnight till the morning while they were having these conversations. yes i think it is a conversation between the two of them it is too honest to be an interview. you just hear them talking and watchin the views from aberdeen- where he was born- and listening to the songs the people chose who made this dvd.they must have worked a lot to collect everything together and put them in a perfect order. it was just amazing to hear something new from Kurdt's mouth, something unheard before.
R.I.P. KURDT COBANE