Janis Joplin truly lived a struggled life. Yet, she was somehow able to portray herself as a bubbly and outgoing individual. This film clearly states this by showing her background, but also using footage from concerts and footage of her with friends and bandmates. I loved the way that the film went through her early life, hitting the head of the nail with how she was treated as a girl. It seems as though most famous musicians go through the type of childhood that Joplin went through. The film gives us a superb view of her life in Texas and it teaches everyone in the audience something new. To me, that is the point of a documentary.
The documentary is also quite creative in how it tells the story. The filmmakers combine footage of Joplin with letters she wrote. The footage is well-picked and always relevant to the film's message. Often times concert footage can be overused and used poorly in music documentaries but this one does it right. The concert footage pieces the storyline together and keeps the audience's eyes on the screen. At times there were so many images on the screen that I wished I had a remote to rewind and look at them all. I guess I will just have to re-watch the whole film!
To conclude, I have to talk a bit about the music. I have not listened to much Janis Joplin personally, but I loved the music used in the film. It really made me want to explore her music more with the concert footage and just the relation of her songs to her own life. In fact, I am listening to her music right now as I write this. All of her songs seem so deep and hard-hitting, truly portraying her personality and background.
The Bottom Line: This is a creative and very insightful documentary of a tortured soul.
Score: 9.3/10
The documentary is also quite creative in how it tells the story. The filmmakers combine footage of Joplin with letters she wrote. The footage is well-picked and always relevant to the film's message. Often times concert footage can be overused and used poorly in music documentaries but this one does it right. The concert footage pieces the storyline together and keeps the audience's eyes on the screen. At times there were so many images on the screen that I wished I had a remote to rewind and look at them all. I guess I will just have to re-watch the whole film!
To conclude, I have to talk a bit about the music. I have not listened to much Janis Joplin personally, but I loved the music used in the film. It really made me want to explore her music more with the concert footage and just the relation of her songs to her own life. In fact, I am listening to her music right now as I write this. All of her songs seem so deep and hard-hitting, truly portraying her personality and background.
The Bottom Line: This is a creative and very insightful documentary of a tortured soul.
Score: 9.3/10
