An overly long and indulgent disappointment of a rock doc that brings nothing new to the party. Much is left out with gaps filled in by inexplicable meandering 'art'. Be very suspicious of 'officialy sanctioned' films, especially those that miss out key figures, white wash others and look like they were thrown together.
Cobain: Montage of Heck
2015
Action / Animation / Biography / Documentary / Music
Cobain: Montage of Heck
2015
Action / Animation / Biography / Documentary / Music
Keywords: musicianstagelifestylewashington
Plot summary
An authorized documentary on the late musician Kurt Cobain, from his early days in Aberdeen, Washington to his success and downfall with the grunge band Nirvana.
Uploaded by: OTTO
Director
Movie Reviews
Get your information elsewhere.
singular voice
This HBO documentary on Kurt Cobain has contribution from almost everyone around him. It uses his art work, his music, and his voice to peer into his inner self. It has some of his family, an old girlfriend, and Krist Novoselic. With Dave Grohl obviously missing, I assumed that Courtney Love would do the same. To his credit, Dave has always claim to be ignorant while avoiding discussions of Nirvana. I'm surprised that Love actually shows up to tell her side. It's not a completely successful spin job but she's not one to deny her drug use. It's a portrait of a loving family. It does give an interesting explanation of his OD. I knew about his medical issues but this blames even his heroin addiction on that. Some of the coddling is not helpful but it does expose these inner relationships indirectly. The guy has limited family influence and Love is not the most stable of people. I do find the former girlfriend informative. Actually, I found everything after Teen Spirit rather anti-climatic until Love shows up. It's a loving documentary about an energetic voice rebelling against the world and finding an audience which yearned for that voice.
Inside rather than outside
Just the mere fact, that Cobain (and others) have filmed a lot of stuff (which is used without further comment and is there for the viewer to evaluate and examine and draw conclusions from),which is used in this documentary, make it really essential. Especially if you were a fan. But even if you weren't or just want to find out who this Cobain was, this is the place to start and find out.
It's as conclusive as it gets. I don't think you can get more or better inside ones head, than it's shown here. There's of course foul language and themes that might not be suitable for children. But if you get intimate with a person (I shouldn't forget about the nudity on display here too),you're bound to see and hear things, that some might judge as unsafe for kids to watch.
Very thorough, with many interviews and a lot of private time with a man, who seemed to feel doomed ...