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Kurt Cobain

Filmmaker A.J. Schnack draws from over 25 hours of audio-taped interviews to offer an intimate meditation on the life of the man who changed the face of rock & roll in the 1990s in this film that uses... read more read more... materials originally gathered for music journalist Michael Azerrad's book Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana. From his early childhood to his discovery of music and his troubled attempts to make sense of his skyrocketing fame as a member of Nirvana, Kurt Cobain recounts his life in a series of previously unreleased recordings. By combining the interviews with footage of Aberdeen, Olympia, and Seattle -- three Washington cities that played a major role in Cobain's tragically short life -- director Schnack assembles a dreamlike journey into the mind of an oft-discussed but widely misunderstood legend. An ethereal score by Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard and Nirvana producer Steve Fisk, as well as songs by some of Cobain's favorite recording artists including David Bowie and the Melvins, merge with evocative imagery to strip away the legend and portray the subject as a real man whose talents stood in stark contrast to his ability to deal with the hardships of fame. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Critics

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42 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 37 min.

Directed by: AJ Schnack

Release Date: October 3, 2007

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DVD Release Date: February 19, 2008

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Flixster Reviews (401)

  • 5oclockcoffee
    May 11, 2012
    5oclockcoffee

    You want a part of me
    Well, I'm not selling cheap
    No, I'm not selling cheap    *


    Between December 1992 and March 1993, the music journalist Michael Azerrad interviewed Kurt Cobain for his book Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, published by Doubleday. Almost... read more all the 25 hours of audio taped interviews took place between midnight and dawn at Kurtīs house in Seattle, Washington. One year after the last of these interviews, Kurt committed suicide. Years later, Azerrad meets the director AJ Schnack and the idea of the movie comes in.

    Shot in the three cities where Kurt lived, Aberdeen, Olympia and Seattle, and not featuring any Nirvana song or image of him until the very end, Kurt Cobain About a Son is something between a documentary and an (auto)biography where we see an honest (self)portrait of Kurt. At least, as honest as it can be. The use of random images and other music artists works when trying to give importance to what Kurt is saying, when trying to show the person instead of the icon. Gus Van Santīs Last Days, that focus on the icon (Kurtīs sun glasses, wearing a dress, etc) and use the silence to try to get into Kurtīs mind/world, works, but as a portrait of the character as we know it.

    Childhood, fatherīs absence, adolescence, art, musical identity, depression, fame, life. It is an interesting view on the construction of a real character and on trying to discover the real person. Kurt wanted to be famous, but didnīt expect to become a "fucking cartoon character".


    People do not deserve to know about my life private now. (...) The thing that I've always, that I've never understood, is the classic reaction to someone who complains that's in the limelight is like "well, you know, you made your bed, now you have to sleep in it. That's what everyone expects. You're public domain now, and everyone has the right to know everything about you." (...) I donīt agree with people saying: "everyone has a right to know." I have the right to change that perception. I have the right to change peopleīs way of thinking of celebrities. It should be changed. It should be different. They should be treated as human beings and respected (in their private issues).


    *Celebrity Skin, by Hole. In the movie Kurt talks a lot about fame and its consequences, about the pressure over him and Courtney Love.


    updated: I left the movie playing while working on other things. I prefer to listen to it than watching it. It was like Kurt was in my room, talking directly with me.
  • fb1710827246
    March 25, 2012
    fb1710827246
    Great documentary. Got to know the man personally.
  • michaelcorleone
    June 8, 2008
    michaelcorleone
    This is more than a film. The uncompromising honesty and profound artistry of Cobain's words cut right to the core of me. This is an absolute must-see for all true fans of Nirvana, and anyone interested in Kurt Cobain as a man and a musician.
  • iamthethinman
    May 20, 2010
    iamthethinman
    In a comment that is not meant to be as derogatory as it is as written: this is an insignificant movie. Even for Cobain fans, there is nothing that really brings more to fans, and gives nothing to casual or non-fans. From the start, I quickly tuned out and switched to putting on ... read moremy computer while washing dishes. I didn?t need to watch the loose association and ambient artistic images. An occasional jab from a story Kurt would tell was interesting, but nothing particularly enlightening or terribly engaging.

    But I ?watched? on, possibly because I had just vacationed in Seattle, or else it is because of the anti-charismatic charisma that Cobain has. There is no filter, and no real hiding. He just is. Whether contradictions or surliness or just fluff, you kind of wondered what he would say next.
  • MovieGuruDude72
    May 2, 2010
    MovieGuruDude72
    A still-photography documentary but still a must-see for anyone who loved Nirvana and/or early 1990s grunge, especially those who actually lived in Seattle at the time. So many movies and novels have delved into the why's for Cobain but none have really shown a clear-cut reason f... read moreor his mindset. Some believe he was just so sick with "The Establishment" and it's meddling with his music. Others believe his drug use simply overwhelmed him. It's apparent from watching this documentary and listening to the audio interviews that Cobain had been unhappy his entire life, but it took just one thing to set him off the edge. This doc comes close to answering the why, though does leave a lot to the imagination, which is probably a good thing. Nobody likes to think of the pain the man was in and nobody likes to reminisce about the loss of one of the last truly great talents rock music has ever seen.
  • linzy101182
    July 24, 2008
    linzy101182
    If you are a fan of Kurt Cobain or of Nirvana at all, I recommend this documentary. At first, I was not sure if I would like it because the film is pretty much just random shots from the places Kurt grew up with audio interview clips from Kurt playing. After getting into the fi... read morelm though, I realized how powerful it was to just have the audio clips rather than seeing a video interview. Kurt Cobain was an amazing and talented musician and a very engaging and insightful person. The film left me feeling sort of haunted... it definitely lingered in the room when it ended. I thoroughly enjoyed spending an intimate hour and a half with Kurt.
  • justkeepstaring
    July 6, 2008
    justkeepstaring
    best movie evr i love it its about my fav singer/guitarist kurt cobain but its sad he died r.i.p kurt donald cobain 1967-1994
  • yaelko
    November 1, 2007
    yaelko
    Interesting take on Cobain's character and bio through a combination of scenery shots and people's portraits visually and the singer's voice taped in intimate interviews played as audio. I learned several things about Cobain I didn't know, but it didn't go deep enough with such a... read moren amazing potential of a subject.
  • zeeflee
    October 5, 2007
    zeeflee
    Great audio and the Aberdeen imagery was fantastic. Azerrad was a tool when he spoke to the audience

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Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones
January 11, 2008
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Only loosely connected to the story, the visuals quickly grow monotonous. Full Review

Joel Selvin
November 30, 2007
Joel Selvin, San Francisco Chronicle

The ending section, where Schnack and Azerrad let Cobain ramble philosophically about life and music, is a muddled intellectual mess. Full Review

Joan Anderman
November 2, 2007
Joan Anderman, Boston Globe

Kurt Cobain About a Son is a lovely piece of filmmaking, a gripping, minimalist marriage of sound and image. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
October 25, 2007
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

As important for what it reveals about a seminal and grievously misunderstood artist as for how it rejuvenates a moribund documentary form. Full Review

Steven Rea
October 19, 2007
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

Less a movie than an illustrated audiotape, Kurt Cobain: About a Son is nonetheless fascinating for what it reveals of its subject, Full Review

V.A. Musetto
October 5, 2007
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

There's definitely an anti-doc vibe going on here, which is fitting for a man who refused to conform during a short but productive life. Full Review

Kevin Crust
October 5, 2007
Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times

The film often feels like a ghost story narrated by the ghost himself and works best when it is visually more impressionistic. Images of empty rooms and landscapes are far more evocative than the Coba... Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir
October 4, 2007
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

You'll come out of this knowing more about Cobain's self-destructive talent, and lifelong depression, than a more conventional treatment could offer. Full Review

Manohla Dargis
October 3, 2007
Manohla Dargis, New York Times

It's hard to know who the audience might be for the documentary oddity Kurt Cobain About a Son, but I bet its subject would have hated it. Full Review

Sheri Linden
November 3, 2006
Sheri Linden, Hollywood Reporter

For those who can get past the visual absence of Cobain and the aural absence of his music on the excellent soundtrack, this is an indelible autobiographical document.

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