One More Time with Feeling

A somewhat frustrating marriage between artistic showcasing and the documentation of a grieving father, clearly still in the process of coming to terms with the loss of his son. The latter part, which for obvious reasons, feels more important, is done a major disservice by the overwhelming focus on the new songs, but Caves reflections on life are mesmerizing and poignant, none the less.

Simultaneously fascinating and grossly uncomfortable to watch, ultimately resulting in a kind of empty melancholy.

A peculiar beast; a very intimate portrait of a man dealing with the aftermath of the most awful grief, learning to function again, mixed with obviously staged studio performances and special effects shots; in black and white, but in 3D, adding that surreal feel of grief where the angle and depth are always wrong; as if Nick Cave the father and Nick Cave the wordsmith need the help of Nick Cave the performer to find their way back to semi-normality. Sometimes puzzling, sometimes devastating.

An engaging and raw depiction of a father mourning the loss of his son. While too close for comfort, it becomes a heartwarming peek into Cave's thought pattern, in which he gives room to "faith" and superstition, but remains grounded and brutally honest with himself.

"One More Time With Feeling" is a rather subdued film, what with the slow-paced talk and the minimalist direction of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' current output. But it's also a stunningly shot one, with an abundance of frames beautiful in both conception and execution, as well as a film highlighting not only the vibrancy of the band's creative process but also Nick Cave's unique way with words, while also dealing with the touchy subject of the death of his son Arthur in a suitably discreet way.

Can't express how much Nick Cave's music has meant in my life. I lost touch around the Grinderman project, where he was focused on being a happy man making playful almost back-to-basic rock music. So for selfish reasons it's good to have the vulnerable Cave back. Just very sad that it took such a tragic events like losing a son to bring him back. But it's hard to listen to his new album because now I feel ashamed that I want Cave hurting so that he can make music that suits my vulnerability.

One of the years' best albums covered in an enthralling artistically somewhat morbid feature was always going to work for me. Morbid may be harsh, that feeling always lingers. Grand music, superb shots and one of musics most interesting talisman. I definitely left this with feeling.

Video Review: https://youtu.be/po0991MRapM

What an amazing experience. A full theater, the entire audience was silent the entire time, & nobody was on their phone. Holy fucking crap.

It already is a beautiful shot fascinating documentary that gives insight into Cave’s creative process and inner life, inc. some beautiful poetry. What takes it to the next level is the honest exploration and truthful explanation of grief that cuts trough the often empty bs surrounding it and touches upon the unspeakable reality that is at the core of such immense trauma. That this traumatic event is never fully clearly outspoken in the movie speaks volumes.

Fans of the music of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis will get much more out of this than I did. Even though it’s true, as everyone says, that Cave is clearly still grappling with what happened and his feelings about it, somehow I also have the impression, which others don’t seem to have, that there is a significant element of performance going on in the expression of and rumination about those feelings, and I don’t find this element totally pleasant to sit through. But it does have something.