strummer: the future is unwritten

it's kind of odd to think that 30 years have passed since the clash burst forth
hey i was there i saw them i bought the records i thought they were the best
at least the best punk band that went beyond that and did so much more musically
director julien temple once again at the helm of this film about joe strummer and his music
one of the strengths of the film is that it seems strictly chronological
so it starts out with a quite revealing exposure of his childhood and upbringing
born in turkey as john mellor to a diplomat father and with one slightly older brother
there seems to be no shortage of footage of the young joe as a teenager
as he discovers music and then decides to devote his life to the pursuit of it
puts together his first band called the 101-ers named after a squat they lived in
then in a moment he describes himself as the luckiest break of his life
he is introduced to the other members of the group that is to become the clash
at the time that punk broke forth in london and the rest of england
at this point the film picks up the pace and we are taken along for a great ride
naturally quite a few of the most recognisable tunes are rolled out
for a while i felt we were witnessing one big long video clip
with no holding back on the choppy, cut-up techniques used by music video directors
which i believe is actually julien temples's claim to fame
but this technique suits the subject and the times in this film
there's some very interesting voice-over from joe strummer himself
he had a weekly radio show on bbc highlighting music of the world that comes and goes
there are also comments from friends and acquaintances in all sorts of interesting settings
johnny depp, steve buscemi, matt dillon, martin scorcese and ahem bono all appear
and talk in very reverential terms about the man and the music he made
various partners also make comments in very adoring terms
one thing i picked up on that i thought was a refreshing change
none of these people were introduced with the sub-titles as seen in so many other films of this genre
sort of like well if you don't know who this person is then oh well nevermind
it's not about them and they are not there to add credibility to the film
which they naturally do but they actually seem to talk quite naturally anyway
by the time we are into the middle of the film the band is taking on america
playing in stadiums appearing on talk shows riding in limousines
and unfortunately suffering quite badly for all of that
in one scene we see joe strummer imploring the stadium crowd to give him some attitude
you can sense his frustration at the lack of it
and it's pretty well all downhill from there
my memory (and wiki) tells me that the wheels fell off in 1986
so the later part of the film is devoted to joe strummer as recluse, husband and father
but also a political activist with a social conscience and a generous manner
he eventually finds his way back into music with joe strummer and the mescaleros
until his premature death in 2002 from a congenital heart disease
the final words of the film are from him
telling us that people can do anything
we just need the will to want to change things
a real shame he is no longer with us
we need the likes of him these days
great film