NZIFF Film Review: "Gimme Danger" (2016).

"The story of The Stooges." This is Gimme Danger. This documentary film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. Emerging from Ann Arbor, Mich., amidst a countercultural revolution, The Stooges' powerful and aggressive style of rock 'n' roll blew a crater in the musical landscape of the late 1960s. Assaulting audiences with a blend of rock, blues, R&B, and free jazz, the band planted the seeds for what would be called punk and alternative rock in the decades that followed. Jim Jarmusch's documentary presents the context of The Stooges' emergence.

Jarmusch began working on the documentary almost a decade prior to the film's release. The project began after Osterberg expressed that if a film were to be made about The Stooges, he would prefer Jarmusch to make it. The film mixes archival photos and footage and cutout style animation alongside reunion-era interviews with the surviving band members and footage of their 2010 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The documentary is titled after a song on the 1973 Raw Power album.

Jarmusch gets nothing out of his interview except the band members and manager repeatedly telling us how long and how well the group works together. If you don't like the music, forget it. But, if you're like me, a The Stooges fan, this is great inside stuff. I'll never understand how The Stooges won the heart of Jarmusch. While a little Jarmusch is a good thing, a lot can be a bit much to take. At least when he's in this mood. Much like the subject himself, Jarmusch's film is decidedly not smooth and mellow, but it has the kick of a mule. It cuts right to the savage heart of it all, thrusting the music center stage and leaving the rumors and anecdotes (most of them, anyway) to the biographers. Fans will freak and the curious will be rewarded by indie film legend Jarmusch's doc of The Stooges. If you love the music, you'll adore the film. It rocks! The boys don't have much to say but it's oddly fascinating watching them try. Both a quirky little movie and a monument to one of rock 'n' roll's greatest noisemakers. A pleasant but uncompelling historical curio. If you've ever liked The Stooges songs, you'll probably be hooked early on. The interviews with the band members and the behind-the-scenes footage make for an entertaining and illuminating experience. This is an intimate, lyrical yet incendiary film, and it will please fans of The Stooges and Jarmusch. A far cry from some of the better 'rockumentaries' out there. Plays like This Is Spinal Tap made from anti-matter. Both films are about aging rockers, but the film removes the humor and energy. What's most singular about the project is that in addition to providing access to the creative process and deepening the album experience. Jarmusch generally manages to illuminate the art and experience of a sometimes reluctant subject in a way that is enlightening, where it could have been painfully intrusive.

Simon says Gimme Danger receives:

Also, see my reviews for Only Lovers Left Alive and Variety (Varieté).