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Reviews Counted:36
Fresh:26
Rotten:10
Average Rating:6.9/10
Consensus: With a constant voiceover of his own words, About A Son is a deeply personal look into Cobain's life that is sure to please his many fans.
Theatrical Release:Oct 3, 2007 Limited
Synopsis: An intimate and moving meditation on the late musician and artist Kurt Cobain, based on more than 25 hours of previously unheard audiotaped interviews conducted with Cobain by noted music... [More]
Director: AJ Schnack
As an illustrated audio tour through the life of a gifted but self-destructive performer, 'About a Son' is enlightening to a point, but one has to wonder when filmmakers will stop exhuming the corpse of a man who desperately craved privacy.
Shaped from Cobain's own words, the film tells his story with care, in inventive style and without phony reverence or pretentious pronouncements.
Most of the material has never been made public before, so the movie is a must-see for Cobain fans. Even for non-fans, it is quite an astonishing document. Up to a point.
Only loosely connected to the story, the visuals quickly grow monotonous.
Top CriticAllows the fans that the legendary musician will keep gathering for decades to come a brief look inside Cobain's troubled mind, and it does so in a refreshingly bold and innovative way.
A fascinating plunge into one man's thicket of contradictions.
There is much to fault in this tedious exercise in pseudo-hipster cool masquerading as, well, what exactly?
Startlingly de-mythologizing at first, then just plain poignant . . . it's fascinating to reconcile Cobain's slacker howl over chipping guitar chords with a sodden Pacific Northwest of logging trucks and fishing boats.
The ending section, where Schnack and Azerrad let Cobain ramble philosophically about life and music, is a muddled intellectual mess.
Top CriticMany of the images aren't particularly compelling and neither, frankly, are Cobain's comments, which range from dull anti-press diatribes to familiar stories about the musical influence of his Aunt Mary to inarticulate blather.
It's easy to get lost in his words, especially if you're a fan. I ended up enjoying the film overall, even if I had to wonder whether Cobain himself would have approved of a film like this.
Cobain narrates the tale of his all-too-short life, musing on his successes, loves, letdowns, motivations and depression.
Kurt Cobain About a Son is a lovely piece of filmmaking, a gripping, minimalist marriage of sound and image.
Top CriticThe unique style of the film makes it a music and art house fan's must and, if you are a fan of Kurt Cobain, yours too.
...essential viewing for any real fan of the man and his music and an artfully unique take on the musical biographical documentary genre.
As important for what it reveals about a seminal and grievously misunderstood artist as for how it rejuvenates a moribund documentary form.
Top CriticLess a movie than an illustrated audiotape, Kurt Cobain: About a Son is nonetheless fascinating for what it reveals of its subject,
Top CriticThis isn't so much a movie documentary as it is an audio book with visuals.
Personally, I would have preferred to just listen to a CD of Azerrad's engrossing interview in my car -- then pop in a Nirvana album for the rest of the drive home. Smells like a fine idea to me.
About A Son may not let in anybody who doesn't already have one foot in Nirvana's doorway, but those people are invited in fully, to experience the contradictions and preoccupations of a man whose music defined his era.
February 17, 2009:
Marc Forster Eyes Cobain Biopic 
Nothing's set in stone yet, but according to Production Weekly, Marc Forster is considering helming a Kurt Cobain biopic. More...
February 11, 2008:
RT on DVD: The Brothers Affleck Lead the Pack With Gone Baby Gone
One of the best films of last year comes to DVD this week (Gone Baby Gone, written and directed by Ben Affleck, starring brother Casey Affleck), but there are tons more to pick... More...
October 04, 2007:
Critical Consensus: Heartbreak Needs Discipline, Jane Worth Perusing, Seeker Reeks
This week at the movies, we've got honeymooners (The Heartbreak Kid, starring Ben Stiller and Michelle Monhagan), teenage heroes (The Seeker, starring Alexander Ludwig),... More...
TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!
AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.
TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.
Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.
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