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Movie Review - 'Patti Smith: Dream of Life'

Written by bigpicture on

From: getthebigpicture.net

Patti Smith: Dream of Life

Featuring Patti Smith, Lenny Kaye, and Sam Shepard
Directed by Steven Sebring
Not Rated

You either get Patti Smith or you don't. There are artists like that in every field - some people never warm to Dali or Joyce Carol Oates and some people swear by the films of Lars von Trier.

But the Godmother of Punk is one of those "twain shall never meet" artists whose fans revel in the fact that she is theirs while her detractors feel that her lack of mainstream success over the past 30 years means that they're right about it. Still, the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee has plenty of rabid fans who connect to her music, message, and methods.

What a shame it is then that the documentary Patti Smith: Dream of Life is not more inclusive. It's a labor of love, without a doubt; photographer Steven Sebring followed Smith around for over ten years collecting footage. All of that is great if you're already a fan, but the problem is, if you're already a fan you don't really need this. It's as if Sebring is too close to his subject, covering Smith in the abstract and failing to lay down a time line that we can follow. It's a very non-traditional exercise.

We would expect a reference or two to the thousand ships of punk music she launched, like R.E.M. and Sonic Youth, among others, but Sebring doesn't bring up her career in those terms. Her landmark album, Horses, is not put in the proper perspective, and her biggest hit, "Because the Night," is nowhere to be found. Perhaps her fan club has become sick of that song, but it would really be the foot in the door for a lot of other potential viewers.

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