Movie: “Cobain: Damn installation”
Country, year: USA, 2015
Slogan: “the Best movie about rock music of all time”
Genre: documentary, biographical musical film
Director: Brett Morgen
Producer: Brett Morgen, Jessica Berman Bogdan, Sara Bernstein
Operator: Eric Edwards, Jim Whitaker, Nicole Hirsch
Composer: Nirvana
Mounting: Joe Beshenkovsky, Brett Morgen
Starring: Aaron Burckhard, Chad Channing, don Cobain, Wendy O’connor, Kim Cobain, Jenny Cobain, Kurt Cobain, Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, Courtney Love, Tracy Marander and others.
Age limit: 16+
Movie length: 02:12
After several unsuccessful attempts to shoot anything decent about the Nirvana front-man, the fans finally have got true, real and honest film about the difficult fate and career of Kurt Cobain. With the permission of the family of a rock idol and former members of Nirvana, Brett Morgen, getting access to the personal archives of the musician, his drafts, diary entries, drawings, rare audio and video material, did something that was not possible before anyone – he made a film about Kurt and not on the motives of such biographies of Kurt. It is noteworthy that the name “Devil’s cut” is borrowed from one of the collections of audio recordings of Cobain.
It is not inventing a new story about the icon of the grunge of the 90s, and skillfully composing the facts of real life, with concert recordings, video cuts, intimate shots of the “home video”, choosing symbolic sound a number of the most hyped hits, mostly in the instrumental versions, Morgen, is not afraid of the word, has created a masterpiece. All the characters in the film play themselves, of course, speaking to the camera, they are silent about something, something of whitewashing, because over time a lot of bad is forgotten. Courtney, as if on command, for the first time in many years, disables bitch and greedy widow brilliant husband that makes millions trading name of Cobain and all that it involves. In the current Courtney, restored by an expensive plastic surgeon, it is difficult to know torn off the blonde girl from the punk band “Hole” (“Hole”) is a vulgar and attractive, with too much makeup, guitar at the ready and no underwear under her short dress. Courtney says about Kurt with warm and even hints at the fact that not without her, this guy is firmly hooked, and she, poor thing, scared still. Do you believe in her sincerity? Personally, I don’t. Or maybe it’s a normal female envy.
Even in old age the Kurt’s mother Wendy O’connor remains a beautiful woman. Thanks to her, we see a touching, not at all sentimental movies: little Kurt is a year, happy, with a round belly Wendy waiting for her daughter, the future rock star with his first guitar; rehearsals teenage group, where everyone screws up in his own masterly. And a few years later one hundred thousandth of the crowd at concerts, a new generation of troubled teens who have chosen Cobain as their new Messiah, the mega-popular, in which it is hard to resist most of the temptations of the adversary, and especially, to be yourself.
The film is clearly divided into several chapters: serene childhood, where my father-mother-Kim-and-Kurt – happy family; troubled youth, where the puny kid in torn jeans and a plaid shirt, so wants human involvement and parental love, but divorced Wendy and Donald too busy with their narrow-minded business; quite detailed and most importantly interesting report about the holidays and week-days, is rapidly soaring to the top of the charts “Nirvana”. Kind of a live musical tour to concerts and in dressing rooms, rehearsal and recording studios, a joint party of Kurt, Dave and Krista, their rare, but a good interview and performances on MTV. The red line of the film takes place freaky love Kurt to Courtney, (because they are new Sid and Nancy), and tender father’s love to daughter Frances. Speaking of Francis, she appears only in early childhood, although that prevented her from giving interviews now. Sure, in collusion with his mother, Frances Bean Cobain talked Brett Morgen to remove all defamatory Courtney moments, and the rest is also erased all sharp corners.
Overall, for the film “Cobain: Damn installation” there can be no complaints: it’s a true story without moralizing and sentimentalize, without far-fetched facts. All those who are not just interested in the works of Nirvana, and for many years carefully studied the short but colorful biography of their immortal leader, nailing on the cross Courtney and fantasizing on the subject of “what it would be now with the “Nirvana?”, after watching the film, is unlikely to learn about their idol something new. All these loyal fans can tell you about “my Kurt” many shocking stories by heart read two dozen odd poems, will spend a long and boring lecture in the group’s discography and decode the symbols in each song. But in this film you will find something that is not available anywhere else – the truth about nee Kurt Donald Cobain.
Natalia Chaiko
