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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
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 2.5/4 |
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. Full Review |
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 3/4 |
Shaped from Cobain's own words, the film tells his story with care, in inventive style and without phony reverence or pretentious pronouncements. Full Review |
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3/5 |
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. Full Review |
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Only loosely connected to the story, the visuals quickly grow monotonous. Full Review |
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Allows 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. Full Review |
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4.5/5 |
A fascinating plunge into one man's thicket of contradictions. Full Review |
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1.5/4 |
There is much to fault in this tedious exercise in pseudo-hipster cool masquerading as, well, what exactly? Full Review |
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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. Full Review |
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1.5/4 |
The ending section, where Schnack and Azerrad let Cobain ramble philosophically about life and music, is a muddled intellectual mess. Full Review |
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2/4 |
Many 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. Full Review |
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3/4 |
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. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Cobain narrates the tale of his all-too-short life, musing on his successes, loves, letdowns, motivations and depression. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Kurt Cobain About a Son is a lovely piece of filmmaking, a gripping, minimalist marriage of sound and image. Full Review |
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B+ |
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. Full Review |
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B+ |
...essential viewing for any real fan of the man and his music and an artfully unique take on the musical biographical documentary genre. Full Review |
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As important for what it reveals about a seminal and grievously misunderstood artist as for how it rejuvenates a moribund documentary form. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Less a movie than an illustrated audiotape, Kurt Cobain: About a Son is nonetheless fascinating for what it reveals of its subject, Full Review |
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2/4 |
This isn't so much a movie documentary as it is an audio book with visuals. Full Review |
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2.5/4 |
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. Full Review |
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B |
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. Full Review |
1 CommentLatest 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...
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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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