REVIEWED: Until the Light Takes Us (the Black Metal Documentary Film)
"Modern music is as dangerous as cocaine"
Pietro Mascagni (Italian operatic composer. 1863-1945)
When a particular type of music becomes powerful, it becomes a tool that empowers people to be powerful - a fair warning perhaps that should have greeted the audience when one is watching this documentary film about Norwegian Black Metal called "Until the Light Takes Us". What we were treated in the opening scene though was Fenriz (of Darkthrone) standing in front of the camera, unaware that it is running, in a studio, while the film crew talk with each other in the background. Then the first piece music that greets the audience who we take might be expecting to be awashed with glorious distorted noise played over cheap amplifiers was instead treated to a pseudo chamber pop piece by Icelandic band múm; a song entitled "Ballad of the Broken Birdie Records". In fact, that song would appear many times all throughout the film, right to the rolling credit.
As how it would have been politely implied in the opening paragraph of this review, there are a few problematic issue with this movie that we somehow felt have not done any justice to how it was promoted to be - a stunning view of a music movement that once shocked the whole world. But perhaps before we drop our already-sharpened bloodied ax over the neck of this filmocumentary (we'll gladly take credit for the creation of that term, yes), it is fair enough for us to say that the issue that was raised in the film actually makes it a worthwhile watch, if not for its punishingly languid pace. Basically, from what we understood, since it is a view from within the movement itself so it must be in-depth, is that the NBM movement itself was indeed a fraction of three entirely different school of thought and approach where the only thing that unifies them as a single entity is the similarity in their music. That's all. We have one side, represented by Fenriz who is in it entirely for the music and nothing else; the second 'rebellious' side represented by Varg Vikernes (of Burzum, church-burning, and murder of Euronymous fame) who were all very political about things; and then the third side which is perhaps best represented by Per Yngve Ohlin (a.k.a. Dead) who is just absolutely mental and very dark about the condition of his life and the world.
This is where the first problem with the film arises - it's good that the filmmakers have decided to include many differing point of view in their analysis of the movement so as to give a clearer picture and a better grasp over the issue. However, because all these point of views were left untreated and not unified at the end of the movie so as to give a coherent overall view of the issue that they were discussing, one starts to wonder what actually is the filmmakers are trying to achieve here? Yes, we understood now that the church burning thing and the murders of prominent figures within the circle is an individual problem and not a collective one. But they also threw in other things like the satanic reference into the discussion as well as a highlight on the two troubled soul, Dead and Frost, and then left it on its own.
We like to think that when a filmmaker decided to come up with a documentary on any particular issue, it has to be that the filmmaker actually does have a stand (opinion) over the issue and would like to voice his/hers. We like to watch a documentary that has a voice of its own, rather than dependent entirely on other's. The single biggest flaw that this documentary committed is a glaring lack of its own voice, of its own opinion, of its own stand. If the film is just an overall view of NBM, then they shouldn't have bothered interviewing Fenriz and Vikernes at length. They shouldn't have bothered covering on the Black Circle, the infamous burning of the Fantoft Stave Church (and many others), the Euronymous-runned Helvete record store - none of those. If they are just trying to paint a picture of these Black Metal crowd as being largely misunderstood, misguided poor soul, other earlier documentaries on NBM have done that, and they did a much better job at it.
Then, did we mention about the painfully languid pace of this film? Because if no then we would really love to stress on this one - I watched this film three times, and all three times I fell asleep halfway through it. It's a documentary that plays out on a very personal, intimate level, and in which we are pretty cool with that. Sure, Vikernes is just human after all, and he sure does have his own opinion about his fellow compatriot - Fenriz, Dead, Faust - that is entirely normal. But what is not normal is that when you try to make a film on a subject matter that is famed for its dark, torturous sound, for its troubled, satanic-reference rich lyrics, and its anti-Christian view, and make it into an intimate, sobering affair, it kind of lulls our sense receptors and made us go numb. Seriously, the only thing that you will be thinking about very loudly throughout the movie is: "Where is the noise? It's too quiet in here."
"Modern music is as dangerous as cocaine"
Pietro Mascagni (Italian operatic composer. 1863-1945)
When a particular type of music becomes powerful, it becomes a tool that empowers people to be powerful - a fair warning perhaps that should have greeted the audience when one is watching this documentary film about Norwegian Black Metal called "Until the Light Takes Us". What we were treated in the opening scene though was Fenriz (of Darkthrone) standing in front of the camera, unaware that it is running, in a studio, while the film crew talk with each other in the background. Then the first piece music that greets the audience who we take might be expecting to be awashed with glorious distorted noise played over cheap amplifiers was instead treated to a pseudo chamber pop piece by Icelandic band múm; a song entitled "Ballad of the Broken Birdie Records". In fact, that song would appear many times all throughout the film, right to the rolling credit.
As how it would have been politely implied in the opening paragraph of this review, there are a few problematic issue with this movie that we somehow felt have not done any justice to how it was promoted to be - a stunning view of a music movement that once shocked the whole world. But perhaps before we drop our already-sharpened bloodied ax over the neck of this filmocumentary (we'll gladly take credit for the creation of that term, yes), it is fair enough for us to say that the issue that was raised in the film actually makes it a worthwhile watch, if not for its punishingly languid pace. Basically, from what we understood, since it is a view from within the movement itself so it must be in-depth, is that the NBM movement itself was indeed a fraction of three entirely different school of thought and approach where the only thing that unifies them as a single entity is the similarity in their music. That's all. We have one side, represented by Fenriz who is in it entirely for the music and nothing else; the second 'rebellious' side represented by Varg Vikernes (of Burzum, church-burning, and murder of Euronymous fame) who were all very political about things; and then the third side which is perhaps best represented by Per Yngve Ohlin (a.k.a. Dead) who is just absolutely mental and very dark about the condition of his life and the world.
This is where the first problem with the film arises - it's good that the filmmakers have decided to include many differing point of view in their analysis of the movement so as to give a clearer picture and a better grasp over the issue. However, because all these point of views were left untreated and not unified at the end of the movie so as to give a coherent overall view of the issue that they were discussing, one starts to wonder what actually is the filmmakers are trying to achieve here? Yes, we understood now that the church burning thing and the murders of prominent figures within the circle is an individual problem and not a collective one. But they also threw in other things like the satanic reference into the discussion as well as a highlight on the two troubled soul, Dead and Frost, and then left it on its own.
We like to think that when a filmmaker decided to come up with a documentary on any particular issue, it has to be that the filmmaker actually does have a stand (opinion) over the issue and would like to voice his/hers. We like to watch a documentary that has a voice of its own, rather than dependent entirely on other's. The single biggest flaw that this documentary committed is a glaring lack of its own voice, of its own opinion, of its own stand. If the film is just an overall view of NBM, then they shouldn't have bothered interviewing Fenriz and Vikernes at length. They shouldn't have bothered covering on the Black Circle, the infamous burning of the Fantoft Stave Church (and many others), the Euronymous-runned Helvete record store - none of those. If they are just trying to paint a picture of these Black Metal crowd as being largely misunderstood, misguided poor soul, other earlier documentaries on NBM have done that, and they did a much better job at it.
Then, did we mention about the painfully languid pace of this film? Because if no then we would really love to stress on this one - I watched this film three times, and all three times I fell asleep halfway through it. It's a documentary that plays out on a very personal, intimate level, and in which we are pretty cool with that. Sure, Vikernes is just human after all, and he sure does have his own opinion about his fellow compatriot - Fenriz, Dead, Faust - that is entirely normal. But what is not normal is that when you try to make a film on a subject matter that is famed for its dark, torturous sound, for its troubled, satanic-reference rich lyrics, and its anti-Christian view, and make it into an intimate, sobering affair, it kind of lulls our sense receptors and made us go numb. Seriously, the only thing that you will be thinking about very loudly throughout the movie is: "Where is the noise? It's too quiet in here."
Labels: norwegian black metal
posted by Hafeez at 6:24 AM
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