By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3 cats
Director: Iain Forsyth | Jane Pollard
Country: united_kingdom
Year: 2014
Running time: 97
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2920540/combined
Kyle says: “The closing night screening of the 43rd New Directors/New Films fittingly offered the feature film debut of British directors Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard — a documentary on Australian musician/composer/screenwriter/novelist/actor Nick Cave. Many fans admire him for his work with the Bad Seeds, and the film includes scenes of recording the 2013 album ‘Push the Sky Away’; this particular fan of his movie scores thought his soundtrack with partner Warren Ellis for THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD was one of the very best of 2007. Cave is a shining example of Renaissance man in the 21st century.
“Which is not to say that this documentary transcends niche status, unlike the best documentaries. It doesn’t. Unaccountably, the writer of the program notes calls it ‘unclassifiable.’ The directors say their idea was ‘to not make a traditional documentary.’ Stuff and nonsense. This is a typical, utterly traditional documentary about a great musician before, during and after his labors. The closing shot is the camera pulling away from the solitary Nick Cave in appreciation of the solitary nature of genius. None of it is particularly illuminating or innovative.
“The high point of the movie is Cave’s story about opening for the great Nina Simone. She asks that he introduce her as Dr. Nina Simone (which he does). Standing at the lip of the stage staring down her audience, fists clenched in fury at the limitations of mortality, sitting down at the piano, removing her chewing gum and sticking it to the side of the piano, Simone launches into a set that Cave recalls as one of the transformative experiences of his life — an illustration of how someone like Simone, or Cave, can forget who they are when on stage, and do extraordinary things. 3 cats
“Seen Sunday, March 30, 2014, New Directors/New Films at the Walter Reade Theater, Film Society of Lincoln Center, New York.”