Kurt Cobain About a Son is a lovely piece of filmmaking, a gripping, minimalist marriage of sound and image.
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11/02/07
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Kurt Cobain About a Son (2007)
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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
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Reviews for Kurt Cobain About a Son
Top CriticIt'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.
11/29/07
Throughout the film there is a maddening lack of context.
06/12/07
A touching, heartbreaking and an ultimately honest personal experience. But when all is said and done, all that is really there is the complexity of Kurt Cobain, explained as only the man himself could.
11/11/06
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.
01/18/08
The 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.
10/28/07
...essential viewing for any real fan of the man and his music and an artfully unique take on the musical biographical documentary genre.
10/27/07
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 Cobain stand-ins the filmmakers occasionally deploy.
10/05/07
Top CriticIt’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.
10/03/07
Top CriticAbout a Son is essentially a dead rock star talking about his life for an hour-and-a-half. And it’s deeply moving.
10/04/07
If you've ever been a fan of Cobain's music and want to learn what made him tick, this film is an amazing experience that's not to be missed.
10/02/07
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.
04/09/08
Austerely beautiful and deeply moving -- a total immersion in the world from which Cobain came and which he left permanently altered not long after.
09/26/07
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.
12/06/07
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.
10/05/07
About a Son is essential viewing for what remains of the Nirvana/Kurt Cobain cult, interesting but more problematic fare for everyone else.
10/05/07
Impressionistic docu Kurt Cobain: About a Son is a counterpoint to the iconic late Nirvana rocker's legacy.
09/19/06
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.
11/30/07
As important for what it reveals about a seminal and grievously misunderstood artist as for how it rejuvenates a moribund documentary form.
10/25/07
Top CriticOnly loosely connected to the story, the visuals quickly grow monotonous.
01/11/08
Top CriticLatest News for Kurt Cobain About a Son
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...
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