Documentary Description
Following in the deeply idiosyncratic footsteps of Last Days, About
a Son plays more like autobiography than documentary. Gus Van Sant’s
feature extrapolates moments from the life of Kurt Cobain (with Michael
Pitt as a musician named Blake), while A.J. Schnack’s non-fiction film
adheres closer to the facts, but advances a more radical
Koyaanisqatsi-like approach.
First off, Cobain supplies the narration, but the filmmaker avoids
pictures of the alternative icon until the end. (He culled the
voice-over from interviews conducted by author Michael Azerrad for Come
as You Are: The Story of Nirvana.)
Instead, he uses still and time-lapse photography to explore
Cobain’s Northwest, i.e. Aberdeen, Olympia, and Seattle. The artist’s
unguarded reflections create a sense of intimacy as specific locations
illustrate his words. Conversely, the lack of portraiture and
self-penned music generates a feeling of absence. The soundtrack
combines an ambient score from producer Steve Fisk and Death Cab for
Cutie’s Ben Gibbard with Cobain favorites, like David Bowie, Cheap
Trick, and the Vaselines (available on a separate CD).
For more specifics, interested parties can always turn to tomes by
Azerrad, Gina Arnold, Charles R. Cross, and Everett True. About a Son
doesn’t presume to provide a definitive portrait, but Schnack’s
rigorous avoidance of convention results in an experience far more
dream-like than depressing.
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