• Home
• About
• Archives
• Contact
• Links

MIFF - Day 02 

Film Screened: Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
Time: 4:30pm
Type: Documentary
Genre: Drama
See it for: One of the best documentaries on the insight of a band and their process of making an album ever made.
Avoid it if: You think the documentary is just about the music
Celebrity Sighting: Joe Berlinger
Rating: 3.5/4

This is more like it! A documentary that delves into the inner workings of one of the most successful heavy bands in history and comes out with some fascinating insights. To set the scene, this session was completely booked out and the line started from the entrance of the cinema at Village Bourke St, all the way down the stairs, out the door, all the way through the arcade and half way down Russell St. Lesson to be learnt: Get to sell-out sessions at least an hour early if you want a good seat. The second photo above doesn’t really do the line justice but let’s just say I was probably at the half-way mark (the cinema entrance is in the distance to the right. That’s right. You can’t see it!). The crowd was a mixed bag of fans (though mostly males) from the 18 year old music aficionados through to the old hats who probably witnessed the bands birth in the early eighties. One thing was clear: I hadn’t seen that much long hair in one place since the early nineties when Metallica released The Black Album.

Once inside the theatre, the director Joe Berlinger came out and introduced the film and we were told the sound in the cinema had been cracked up to eleven. The crowd of course went absolutely apeshit. I was pretty much surrounded by fans that knew and loved Metallica a hellva lot more than I so the atmosphere was perfect.

I have to say that this is one of the best music documentaries I’ve ever seen on a band and the primary reason is because the cameras were basically allowed free reign into their lives. Filmed largely while the band were working on their long-awaiting album St Anger, we really get unprecedented access to how each member contributes to the process. We witness verbal fights, anger, confusion, manipulation, hatred but ultimately respect for one another and how these conflicts decide the fate of their careers. Clearly Berlinger knows that there are some major tensions between lead singer Hetfield and drummer Ulrich and that’s when the film excels. At one point Ulrich gets so frustrated he just yells “Fuck” every two seconds and right in the face of Hetfield. I swear I thought Hetfield was gonna knock him flat at that point. It covers a few key Metallica events such as Jason Hewsted’s departure (the bass player) and the search for a replacement and the Napster debate (although I would have liked a little more focus on that). Perhaps one of the more emotional areas the film covers is Dave Mustaine’s (of Megadeth) conversation with Ulrich and how Ulrich throwing him out left him humiliated and gutted for the last 15 years or so. Guitarist Kirk Hammett comes across as the most down-to-earth and sane band member but probably not the brightest. No doubt a former life of booze and alcohol has changed his perspective (and level of intelligence) somewhat.

The film is also pretty hilarious at times, with the appearance of a kooky ‘therapist’ who gets paid US$40000 a month just to basically sit with the band and pretend to like their music. He nods along to their music although it\rquote s clear he has absolutely no interest in it. By the end of the film you just want Hetfield to throw him out the door literally but a few humorous verbal exchanges more than make up for it. You definitely get a sense of This Is Spinal Tap at various times. We also get to meet Ulrich’s hippie dad who does a perfect Pai Mei (the wise old man in Kill Bill Volume 2) beard stroke impression and we also get a little insight into the father and son relationship. I also found it pretty damn hilarious when Hetfield had just got out of rehab and not more than 5 minutes into their first band meeting, Ulrich already cracks the shits with him. Ego’s fly and people get pissed. But it’s all pretty funny and fascinating to see unfold. The only downer I found was the running time which tended to outstay its welcome by about 30 minutes. Other than that, I highly recommend this film to fans of fly-on-the-wall band documentaries. It’s one of the most interesting and energetic one’s I’ve seen in years.

Later on today:

Seeing the martial arts flick Hero and then later on Mario Van Peebles becomes his dad, the first blacksploitation filmmaker in Baadasssss!