- Year: 2016
- Country: UK
- Director: Andrew Dominik
- Starring: Nick Cave, Warren Ellis
When Nick Cave’s son Arthur died after a tragic accident, Nick Cave commissioned the making of a documentary to show him pursuing the making of his excellent album, Skeleton Tree. It was shot in 10 days and shows Cave at his most vulnerable. The documentary, it is said, was a way to avoid a media blast of questions about the tragedy, and, I suppose, allowed him to control the situation. Shot in black and white, the film doesn’t tell a story as much as it paints a picture of an artist at a fragile point in his life. It isn’t easy to watch and it isn’t meant to be. The viewer may feel as frustrated or uneasy as Cave appears to be throughout, but it’s undeniably a great film and deserves to be applauded for the risks it took and for its rather experimental nature: at times almost a concert film, with Cave and The Bad Seeds performing live what winds up on the album, at times a Q&A between Cave and the director and at times…well, actually, despite it all, it almost always actually just feels like one big release. One where no questions are really answered and no meaning is really taken away – one must simply observe without judgment, almost detached in order to better appreciate it. It isn’t meant to be sentimental, but it’s always fascinating and honest and will certainly make you listen to Skeleton Tree differently. It’s unique, but it doesn’t seem like it’s trying too hard to be – much like Cave’s music, it just is. (Note: shot in 3D, but I unfortunately only got to see the 2D version)
Cinema Del Peppel 