Kurt Cobain About a Son (2006)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

AJ Schnack

Release Date:

3 October 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Tagline:

Kurt Cobain in his own words.

Plot:

An intimate and moving meditation on the late musician and artist Kurt Cobain, based on more than 25...

Plot Keywords:

Kurt Cobain | Grunge Era | Depression | Grunge Rock | Punk Rock

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Kurt Cobain

...

Narrator

Also Known As:

Untitled Kurt Cobain Project (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

USA:96 min | Argentina:96 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | France:U | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Aberdeen, Washington, USA

Company:

Bonfire Films of America

Movie Connections:

References Peyton Place (1957)

Soundtrack:

Racing in the Street

Should have been a bonus CD not a movie

I just saw this at the Toronto Film Festival and I wasn't impressed.

While I appreciate the audio interviews captured within this film, I question why a movie was made. I would have enjoyed the film as much if listened to on the way home while I was in traffic. It should have been a CD release, not a film.

The film revolves around some audio recordings that were compiled from a series of late night interviews. There were very intimate details described by Cobain, including how he did care about what people thought about him (as opposed to what most of his friends suggested), and that he wanted to write some pop songs for their albums, but Sub Pop forced them into keeping the albums underground. Some may already be aware of these facts, but I enjoyed learning of them for the first time. The tone in which Cobain spoke felt genuine, and the pacing of the interviews was perfect. These interviews deserve to be heard by any fan of Cobain's, or Nirvana. They were a great listen.

The problem with this film is there isn't a single video clip or photo of Cobain, his family, or Nirvana until the last 30 seconds of the movie. The entire film involves a series of related images that play based on the interviews. An example would be when speaking on his father's job, they show footage of men working at a lumber yard. When Cobain spoke on Seattle, they'd show images of Seattle Record stores, streets and highways. They even had real time images being drawn in the form of artsy cartoons (tree's and grass swaying) during some of the vocals. It was like watching on LONG Fruitopia commercial combined with a film strip about Washington. Unfortunately it also seemed like they had problems clearing for use in this movie.

I understand what the director attempted with the images, but it failed in my eyes. It's almost like they brainstormed how they could generate the most revenue from the interviews, as opposed to having a vision upon hearing them. It feels forced, and I don't need to see this again. Literally. If I ever end up with a copy of the DVD I'll either record the audio to CD, or listen to it with the TV off.