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Instead of the usual talking heads, music clips and constantly cutting to where Courtney Love came into the story, the film takes a more visual approach by filming footage of his progressive cities, from the blue-collar of Aberdeen, Washington and then to its state capital, Olympia, and finally to Seattle. The footage is intercut with deep, penetrating music by Steve Fisk, the occasional rock song (some Nirvana, some not) and with phone interviews conducted by Michael Azerrad, a journalist who was writing a book on Cobain’s life.

With the exception of a few words spoken by Azerrad, all of the dialogue in the film comes from Cobain himself. We have no other perspectives on his life from other people, just simple and restrained commentary from Cobain the man. And not only do his words speak volumes, the images hit us even more.

As the film begins in Aberdeen, we see clips of the cold streets, the logging trucks, the aisles of Safeway as Cobain talks about his early days. To think that Cobain and Nirvana began here in this place and time is jarring. When the film moves on to Olympia, we see a barrage of stills from his (and other) concerts as his rise comes to a head. The clips get more intense and bold when Nirvana finally make the move to Seattle and have a strong start in the grunge movement.

Cobain is not shown until near the end of the film, and to complain that he should be seen more is to miss the point. For starters, we all know what he looks like. That and to see him would be to miss out on the way he sounds when he talks on the screen. We’re seeing a reflection of his life images on the screen, and I don’t think we need his face to confirm that.

“About a Son” is a meditative experience and is unlike anything I have seen before in a music documentary. From the 25 hours of interview footage and countless hours of Washington cinematography, the film will play not only well for Nirvana fans but film fans who crave something a bit different.

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originally posted: 03/21/07 01:02:46
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