Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell (2008)
Wild Combination is a visually absorbing portrait of the seminal avant-garde composer, singer-songwriter, cellist, and disco producer Arthur Russell. Before his death in 1992, Arthur prolifically created music that spanned both pop and the transcendent possibilities of abstract art. Now, over fifteen years since his passing, Arthur's work is finally finding its audience. Wolf incorporates rare archival footage and commentary from Arthur's family, friends, and closest collaborators to tell this poignant and important story.
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Sadly Over-hyped
Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant
It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.
The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
From start to finish this is really a tour de force with great cinematography, great sound editing and great interviews from those who knew Arthur Russell. I've seen so many music documentaries that have been underwhelming; Wild Combination was a breath of fresh air. Although I do not love all of Arthur Russell's music, this is certainly a documentary worth watching, profiling a fascinating person's life story. Hearing the perspectives of both his parents along with colleagues who respected and admired him (i.e. Allen Ginsburg, Phil Glass) is extremely compelling. I can't imagine not wanting to hear more of his music after experiencing this film.