Song Title: Transmission

Artist: Joy Division

Released: 1979

Background: About two years ago, the Internet was ablaze over a potential New Balance running shoe featuring the album art from Unknown Pleasers. The news shook me  [in a good way], because it combined two of my favorite activities – Joy Division and jogging.

I was ultimately let down. The sneakers – created by an independent artist named Dylan Adair – haven’t been released for popular consumption. It was a jarring lesson: never get too excited about anything.

Since that point in time, Joy Division’s rise and fall was chronicled in an excellent film called Control. And in a relatively shocking discovery, I discovered yesterday that the band has made the karaoke transition.

Contributor Skip Harvey recently shifted to a digital karaoke catalog. and one of the new songs he added was Joy Division’s “Transmission.” It’s definitely not as popular as, say, “Love Will Tear Us Apart.” But the song was one of the first songs the band performed for a television audience.

Of course, there have been examples of great bands making disappointing karaoke songs. For the most part, “Transmission” avoids falling into that trap.

What makes the song great: “Transmission” has more vocal variation than most Joy Division songs. Most of the band’s tunes feature Ian Curtis crooning in a decidedly monotone manner. That’s part of Joy Division’s appeal, but monotony is a drawback for many karaoke songs.

“Transmission” starts off that way, but slowly builds to where the singer can sing at a higher octave. When that happens, the song provides a chance for the performer to sing with a great deal of intensity. That doesn’t necessarily mean a person will be able to recreate Curtis’ gyrations. But I’m sure people have made the attempt.

And while the instrumentals of the song are unsurprisingly dark, the song does have a good rhythm suitable for dancing. Of course, that act would fulfill a prophecy issued many years ago by a band known as The Wombats.

The song does feature a lot of instrumental breaks, including one that’s nearly 40 seconds at the start of the song. This becomes less intrusive as the song plays, but it could be argued that the instrumentals stall the tune’s momentum. That’s by no means a criticism of the song. But many great tunes have made a poor entry into karaoke because of long-winded instrumental parts.

Best element of the song: It’s Joy Division, one of the best bands of the 20th century. Also, I like how this song has a methodical build up.

Worst element of the song: The instrumental parts slow the song down. It’s also a selection that’s probably not going to be known by many in a karaoke audience. That limits the chances for crowd interaction.

Conclusion: In all honesty, I always thought Joy Division would be on the list of “bands karaoke forgot.” For various reasons, the group never seemed like a prime candidate to make the karaoke transition. And while a lot of the band’s songs probably wouldn’t work, it’s comforting to know that enthusiasts have a choice. It also helps that “Transmission” isn’t half-bad as a karaoke song.

Transmission: 6 to 8.  Acrylic and ink on paper.  15″ x 8″.  2009.

Transmission: 6 to 8.  Acrylic and ink on paper.  15″ x 8″.  2009.

Joy Division

• Till yesterday I had only heard of this band in passing
• Till yesterday I made no effort to learn anything more of this band
• Till yesterday I had not heard any of its music

And yesterday I watched ‘Control’.

Biopics have this nasty habit of being all that you expected them to be. And this holds true especially for the movies portraying brilliant but extremely flawed individuals. ‘Control’ has it all – sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll – in short the general ingredients of a niche band that came into its own too soon and was assumed to have faded away too early.

That’s where all the clichés stop. ‘Control’ is based on the life of Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis and his troubled life that made and broke the genius within. If there is one word for the pace of the film that is – subtle. Subtlety flows in every frame without being pretentious and this is totally performance driven.

Before this, I had never set eyes or seen the Joy Division lead singer in action. But after ‘Control’ there is a feeling that Sam Riley got it right. In fact he got it perfectly cause the flaws, the genius, the performance, the illness, the discord is all packed into this one performance that takes its inspiration from the stone & machine landscape of Macclesfield. The cast has its share of known performers – Samantha Morton playing the aggrieved wife (playing Deborah Curtis on whose book, Touching from a Distance, the movie was based), and a brilliant cameo from the band manager (Tobey Kebbell as Rob Gretton). Kebbell is hilarious as he goes about arm twisting and wheeling dealing his way with profanity laced words that seem to make good business sense in the end.

I have slept through biopics before, but this one definitely did not warrant a blink. The performance was riveting and backed with a racy soundtrack from the sounds of David Bowie to the Sex Pistols and then the punk rock of Joy Division, every frame of the movie was there for a reason. If I heard Joy Division’s music without knowing anything about them, then I definitely would have mistaken it for a band of the nineties. The music was definitely well ahead of its time and showed why brand Britannia ruled when it came to the rock and punk scene. Rock and punk is as much a British phenomena born out of the gloomy industrial towns of England than the downtown parking lot of Seattle or San Francisco.

Walk in silence
Don’t walk away, in silence
See the danger
Always danger
Endless talking
Life rebuilding
Don’t walk away

Walk in silence
Don’t turn away, in silence
Your confusion
My illusion
Worn like a mask of self-hate
Confronts and then dies
Don’t walk away

People like you find it easy
Naked to see
Walking on air
Hunting by the rivers
Through the streets
Every corner, abandoned too soon
Set down with due care
Don’t walk away in silence
Don’t walk away

Graf Ian Curtis met cd Cradle en plectrums. Macclesfield, UK.

Dear Reader,

Touching From A Distance: Ian Curtis And Joy Division (1995), written by Ian Curtis’ widow Deborah Curtis, inspired the movie Control (see my 11/29/08 blog post), explores Manchester, England post-punk singer Ian Curtis’ quickly earned fame as lead singer and lyricist for the band Joy Division, and his immaturity and/or mental illness, which may have led to his death at 23. He neglected his young wife and his newborn baby. He carried on an affair and traveled with a Belgian woman. He had an epileptic condition, which led to grand mal seizures while he performed. In May 1980, he hanged himself, leaving behind a wife, 1-year-old daughter, and lots of questions, the most important being Why? Deborah Curtis doesn’t have an answer. No one does.

I read Touching From A Distance because I hoped to learn about Ian Curtis’ writing process, specifically how came up with songs like “Transmission” and “Control.” As it turned out, Deborah wasn’t included in his private process, and his band mates were too involved in their lives to care, so there wasn’t much to learn. But I came away with something more interesting than his writing process: my thoughts evoked by this quote from page 121 (paperback 2007).

“The one good thing to come out of Ian’s attempted suicide [several months before his death] was that an appointment was made for him to see a psychiatrist at Parkside Hospital. Amazingly, when the day came for Ian’s visit to the psychiatrist, we went together. On the way there he told me how unhappy he was in the music business. He said that when “Transmission” and Unknown Pleasures had been released, he had achieved his ambitions. Now there was nothing else left for him to do. All he ever intended was to have one album and one single pressed. His aspirations had never extended to recording “Love Will Tear Us Apart” or Closer. As I drove along, he told me how he wanted to leave Joy Division and join a circus.”

Ian Curtis said all he wanted to do was release one album and one single. He didn’t intend to record more music, but he did. Why? Did he expect it of himself? Did other people push him? Could he have stopped after just one success? If he’d quit, would he still have been considered an artist, a genius? Did writing past his initial desires deplete him, cause his death? I don’t know.

I wonder how many talented writers also strive to publish that one book, story, or poem, and once they do, they shut away their talent. (Or painters, actors, and so on.) Do they consider their job done? Do they ever feel like they’re wasting their talents? When I was a dance teacher I choreographed dozens of dances for my students but never managed to do the same for myself. Until I did. Terrified, I performed my dance for hundreds of students and their families, and I succeeded beautifully. The audience loved me. And as I carried my box of congratulatory bouquets to my car I thought I’m done. There wasn’t anything left to do. I didn’t need dance anymore.

So I left dance, but I didn’t join a circus. I joined writing. And I expect I’ll be there a long time. I can’t imagine there’ll come a day when I’ll no longer need writing.

]]> http://wilsonknut.wordpress.com/2009/01/31/touching-from-a-distance-ian-curtis-and-joy-division-by-deborah-curtis/ Sun, 01 Feb 2009 04:14:58 +0000 wilsonknut http://wilsonknut.wordpress.com/2009/01/31/touching-from-a-distance-ian-curtis-and-joy-division-by-deborah-curtis/

I was a little shocked by Touching from a Distance.  The biopic Control, which sticks to the mythical post-punk  ideal of Ian Curtis as a tortured epileptic poet / musician who was torn between his love for two women, is based on Deborah Curtis’ memoir.  She even had a hand in producing the biopic.  What’s shocking is Deborah does not champion that myth in her memoir.

Deborah makes it clear very early in the memoir when discussing the budding stages of her and Ian’s relationship that Ian had some issues that went beyond the typical late-teenager brooding.  He told her from the beginning that he had no intention to live past his twenties.  He loved the melodramatic.  He had wild mood swings and was often unpredictable and awkward socially.  One day he was kind and generous, the next he was controlling and cruel. As Ian and the band become more successful, Ian shut Deborah out of that part of his life, going so far as to tell the band and friends invented stories about Deborah and their home life so there would be no communication between the two parties.  He became a master manipulator, juggling two lives.

It would be easy to chalk up Deborah’s recollections as that of the scorned woman, but I felt she was genuinely trying to figure out the big question everyone has when a loved one commits suicide- why?  And I don’t think she felt obligated to safeguarding his mythical rock status if it kept her from getting closer to answering the question.  It was a liberating read in the sense that the fans rarely get to see how petty, selfish, and cruel our heroes are.  We hold them above such base human characteristics.  The media sells the myth.  We focus on the talent, the art, as if that is all that makes them who they are.

Deborah never doubts or demeans Ian’s talent.  She often applauds his work ethic and drive.  He was a great performer.  The music is what it is- beautiful and original.

But in the end, Ian had little connection to the realities of life.   He went from living with his parents who took care of him, to living with Deborah who took care of him, to being in a band where the manager took care of him.  His mental disorder, whatever it would have been diagnosed as, was compounded by the fact that he never had to focus on anything outside of  himself, and everyone wanted him to give more.  Ultimately, he did the most selfish thing he could think of.

Dear Reader,

I can’t stop thinking about the movie “Control,” a 2007 biopic about Ian Curtis, lead singer in the British band Joy Division. Why? I’m not sure. Is it because Curtis is dead? Because he hung himself? That he was only 23 when he did it? Or maybe I’m puzzled by his hip-locked arm dancing? His baby face? His epilepsy? His painful inability to carry on as a husband, father, boyfriend, and rocker? His music? That he wanted everything and in some way I wanted him to have it? His passion? Other’s passion for him? His drive to create? All of this? Yes, all of this.

The movie is based on Deborah Curtis’ (Curtis’ wife) memoir Touching From a Distance (1995). I’m curious about how it was translated from book to screenplay, so I’ll read the book and compare the two. I’ll also look that the DVD’s special features again, particularly the feature in which the screenwriter discusses how he gathered his information and decided the movie’s focus. (I love that stuff.)

Will you like “Control”? Again, I’m not sure. But I urge you to give it a look and try to enjoy the unique way the director chose to express Curtis’ deeply felt but short life.

Esce in Italia a oltre un anno di distanza dalla presentazione a Cannes 2007 il biopic su Ian Curtis Control. Il film di Anton Corbijn – uno dei più importanti fotografi musicali, autore di alcuni tra i ritratti più celebri del rock e di alcune delle fotografie più conosciute dei Joy Division – si basa sul libro di Deborah Curtis, vedova di Ian (qui co-produttrice del film), Touching from a distance. Un libro terribile, che ovviamente si segnala per il punto di vista, parziale e molto forte. Quello di una donna che, passati gli anni del dolore, racconta con crudezza – talvolta con astio – l’uomo Ian Curtis, ma ne rispetta anche il genio e non ne distrugge il mito. Anzi. Control non ha la stessa forza. Perché in fondo c’è un problema. Che Corbijn non è un regista, ma un ottimo, eccellente fotografo. Il film si segnala infatti per la splendida fotografia in bianco e nero, portatrice dell’angoscia che la narrazione non riesce a esprimere. Perché Control è un lavoro molto didascalico. Con una sceneggiatura piuttosto debole. Ian Curtis ne esce come un ragazzo depresso, che si è sposato troppo giovane, e si suicida 23enne per tormenti d’amore (e perché, certo, scopre la caducità dei sentimenti e non accetta in alcun modo la realtà). Non che sia falso. Ma che ne è del ragazzo che amava Ballard, del provocatore di tendenze destrorse, della mente di Unknown Pleasures? Che traccia c’è in questo film di uno che ha scritto sul serio Atmosphere? Dov’è il suo autore? Non c’è. Il film è molto, troppo semplice. Non che sia brutto. Amore, arte, follia e morte sono sempre argomenti interessanti. Ma se il protagonista di Control avesse cantato altre cose, scritto altra musica… non sarebbe cambiato granché in questo lavoro.

Raramente capita di voler chiudere gli occhi al cinema. Qui succede. Perché i pezzi dei Joy Division che sentiamo sono milioni di volte più potenti, più disturbanti, più evocativi di quanto vediamo sullo schermo. Così, con i Joy Division sullo sfondo, una profondità psicologica e un malessere psichico che intuiamo solo dallo sguardo tormentato di Ian e dalla sua vicenda sentimentale, Control è un lavoro che non esprime ma cerca di spiegare. Con gli avvenimenti, con il susseguirsi degli eventi. Mostrando l’epilessia del nostro, la sua sofferta storia d’amore extra-coniugale. E raccontandoci di fatto l’autore di Disorder («I’ve got the spirit, but lose the feeling») come un depresso qualunque. Insomma, se nessuno mette in dubbio l’infantilismo, la carognaggine, l’egocentrismo di uno che si è andato a suicidare nel tinello della moglie tradita e disperata perché lei rivoleva la sua vita e lui non voleva crescere, questo però proprio non basta a fare la differenza tra uno qualsiasi e il leader dei Joy Division. La musica, che nel primo tempo ha una sua presenza importante nel racconto, poi scompare lasciando il campo aperto alla love story. La produzione di Closer praticamente non esiste.

Solo a un certo punto sentiamo la voce interiore di Ian spiegarci che anche la musica ha avuto un suo ruolo nel crollo emotivo. Anzi, che è essa stessa una causa scatenante. Ma il regista ci dice questa cosa, non ce la fa vivere, non ce la fa sentire. Ce la dice perché altrimenti mancava in sceneggiatura. Perché in realtà è una cosa terribilmente importante. Perché il cantante dei Joy Division si è impiccato la sera prima della tournè americana del gruppo. Che li avrebbe consacrati, probabilmente arricchiti, che lo avrebbe inchiodato alla vita (da star). Il film, però, si salva. Forse perché è molto contenuto e non eccede mai. Sobrietà e tatto lo contraddistinguono. Niente pacchianate (che nei biopic dei musicisti sono sempre dietro l’angolo) tranne una. Che infatti stride e fa subito l’effetto videoclip: parte Love will tear us apart proprio sulla scena in cui il protagonista dice alla moglie di non amarla più. Ecco, per fortuna di cose del genere ce ne sono poche (anche se pure la scena dell’ipnosi non è bella). Control non è proprio il film che poteva essere. Ma nonostante tutto si guarda con interesse. Non è eccelso ma è molto attento a non essere sgarbato. E la storia di Ian Curtis non è proprio una faccenda qualsiasi.

Control, di Anton Corbijn, USA, 2007, 122 minuti

Cast: Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara, Joe Anderson, James Anthony Pearson, Harry Treadaway, Craig Parkinson, Toby Kebbell, Andrew Sheridan, Robert Shelly, Richard Bremmer, Tanya Myers, Martha Myers Lowe, Matthew McNulty, David Whittington, Margaret Jackman, Mary Jo Randle, Ben Naylor.

Distribuzione: Metacinema

Uscita: Cannes 2007, 24 ottobre 2008 (cinema)

At the moment I’m watching a documentary called True Stories: Forbidden Lies – about Norma Khouri. It’s an Australian documentary about a book written by Ms Khouri that she presented as truth, about a friend of hers who was killed in an honour killing. Apparently it’s all bollocks [to be SO colloquial]. The argument that appears to be going on is that Khouri is saying how she’s helped women to escape the regime of Jordan – however – there are women from Jordan who are trying to explode the lies, are ‘sick to death’ of being ‘wrongly portrayed’ in the media. At first, I thought, regardless of whether the book was a fabrication or not, she was helping people. But looking at the women of Jordan, they seem very happy with who they are and their freedom. I’m not sure, I don’t know enough about it. Apparently ‘honour killings’ are still occurring and that there are women who help them – so does it matter if it’s a invention?

Hmmm … I do find documentaries absolutely compelling. I’d much rather watch a documentary than a feature film any day. When I taught A Level Media Studies, I did a unit on documentary. Some students enjoyed it, others hate d it. But I got so passionate about ‘the creative treatment of actuality’ that occurs in documentaries, that I didn’t really care whether they enjoyed it or not! Ha ha … actually that’s not true. I tried to make sure that I included documentaries that they would enjoy watching . My part of our HOOGE DVD library is mainly documentaries – for some reason – the more depressing the better! Ha ha … actually that’s not true … but I do find them really exciting! Students used to moan that they could never watch another wildlife documentary again after I’d taught them – they’d constantly be looking for animorphious references.

So, while I’m writing this, I thought I’d give you my documentary recommendations:

Capturing the Friedmans – Quite a compelling documentary created using interviews and archive footage from The Friedmans’ own tapes. The father and youngest son were accused of child abuse – and the documentary shows the collapse of the family through their own eyes. They taped all their conversations, arguments, trials and tribulations. It’s a tough watch, but worth watching simply because of the way in which they have compiled the documentary and the story itself. In some ways it’s like watching an extended version of The Jerry Springer Show – which isn’t the best recommendation – however I do totally recommend it as a completely compelling story.

Aileen – By one of my favourite documentary film makers – Nick Broomfield. There are two documentaries about Aileen Wournos, the female serial killer who killed her ‘John’s’ and was eventually executed for the crimes. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen ‘Monster’ with Charlize Theron? She played Aileen Wournos (very well in fact) and if you watch the documentaries AND the film, you will really really wonder what the fuck is wrong with the USA (if you’re not wondering already) that they could execute a mentally unstable woman. Heartbreaking.

Paradise Lost I and II – You may have seen me mention the West Memphis Three on Facebook before – these documentaries are about them. The first documentary was commissioned by HBO when they heard about three teenage ‘metallers’ in Arkansas who had been accused of the ritualistic killings of three 8 year old boys. The first documentary is compelling as you really are not completely sure whether the three boys did commit the murders – however – when Berlinger and Sinofsky returned for Paradise Lost II, they approached it with the belief that the boys were innocent. Honestly, you HAVE to watch these documentaries – if you don’t watch the documentaries at least go to the website: www.wm3.net. I cannot believe that Damien Echols is STILL on death row, he was put there when he was 18, when I was 18, and he’s still there. All this life I’ve lived, and he’s been locked away for something I’m 99.9% sure he didn’t do [there always has to be slight doubt doesn’t there?].

One Day In September – A film by Kevin McDonald about ‘Black September’ – the Palestinian group who held Jewish athletes hostage at the Munich Olympic Games, and then killed them [Munich – by Stephen Spielberg is about the apparent Mossad hunt to take revenge on the terrorists]. The documentary is edited like a thriller. Even though you know the outcome, you are still caught up in the roller coaster ride. What is most gripping is the absolute inadequacies of the Germans in dealing with the situation. They were SO desperate to show that they were no longer the heavy-handed force that they once were during the war that they behaved ineffectually.

Touching From A Distance – Another documentary by Kevin McDonald – instead of relying on archive footage and interviews for this one – he staged re-enactments and interviews with the protagonists to move the story along. I really think that Kevin McDonald is an awesome documentary film-maker – he really knows how to grip his audience. This film is about two guys who tried to climb the Sierra Madre in Peru [I think that’s what it’s called] – and had an accident. I won’t go into the whole story – in case you do watch it – but again – COMPLETELY compelling. The characters are wholly uncompassionate but you can’t help wanting to know their stories.

DIG! – I LOVE this documentary so much – it just makes me laugh – especially the line ‘You broke my fucking sitar man’ [not sure I’ve quoted this entirely correctly but you get the idea]. This documentary was filmed over 9 years, charting the successes and collapses of the bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. As you probably know, The Dandy Warhols became fairly successful [especially in the UK] whereas The BJM imploded due to their insanity and ‘creative differences’. However, I definitely prefer BJM compared to the Dandies, they should have been SO much bigger, but the lead singer, Anton is a complete mentalist! You HAVE to watch this, even if you don’t like the music, because it’s just so fascinating.

Ok – some other documentaries (without my blurb):

Grizzly Man

Dogtown and Z-Boys

Dark Days

Supersize Me

Manufacturing Dissent [watch in conjunction with any Michael Moore documentaries – I still like Michael Moore but the guy definitely takes ‘the creative treatment of actuality’ to its full degree]

Nanook of the North [probably the first feature length documentary ever made]

Courtney and Kurt

Tupac and Biggie

Murderball

Jesus Camp

Any documentary by Jon Ronson – my favourite journalist.

J

Well there you go, the Polly guide to the world of documentaries J I’m always looking for new ones to watch so if you have any recommendations, let me know!

I’ve now got about another hour of this documentary about Khouri to watch – it’s intriguing. I’m not sure if she’s full of shit or not. She’s said that obviously a lot of the story is fabricated to ‘protect the innocent’ – and she ‘doesn’t want her [her friend who was killed] real name going public’ – however – if you’re desperate to prove that you’ve spoken the truth and to avenge the woman’s death then do it. Then be truthful. Surely? I guess I don’t understand the situation in Jordan. Now the woman is saying that the killing happened 8 years later – so it’s completely fucked up. I really don’t understand what is going on with this woman – it’s sad that she’s exploiting something so personal and painful for some people – and there seems to be little proof to her story. Hmmmmmmmm. I can go online for free after midnight so I’ll have to look up some more about this when I can.

Hmm, ok, now the woman who started the campaign against the writer, has just said that the ‘arabs’ who committed the September 11^th atrocities were [in HER quote marks] “evil” – ie: suggesting that they weren’t. She said the same about Saddam Hussein – I’m sorry – but they WERE evil. I’m not saying that the Western world isn’t evil but the bombers and Hussein WERE evil. Sorry – I’m giving you a blow by blow account of this documentary and you’ve probably seen it! –

Iactually think this woman is quite mental. She’s said that if she returns to Jordan her father would kill her – but they’ve just interviewed her with the father – and he seems fine. He said that he was strict … but he doesn’t seem like the potential murderer that she said he is.

Well – I didn’t know what to think at the end of the documentary. In fact, was I really meant to come to a conclusion? The interviewer/ film-maker seemed to get very angry with Khouri, and the ending was most interesting – by using a very, seemingly elaborate backdrop, they showed up the sham of the ‘talking heads’ part of the documentary – suggesting perhaps that everyone enjoys playing with reality????? Quite interesting.

En estos momentos debería estar reseñando “The Savages”, sin embargo no puedo evitar la tentación de seguir paladeando un poco más la voz grave de Ian Curtis.

Si algun@ se dejó seducir (como para no dejarse) por la arrolladora y brillante “24 Hour Party People” (2002) del ecléctico Michael Winterbottom, estoy segura de que “Control” (2007) no les decepcionará.

Winterbottom nos regalaba un magnífico paseo de la mano de Tony Wilson, fundador de la Factory Records, por la historia de la música de los años 70 a los 90 y en ese camino descubríamos los primeros pinitos de los Joy Division: el innovador grupo nacido tras el punk que únicamente publicó dos discos a causa de la prematura muerte de su líder y cantante Ian Curtis.

“Control” se centra precisamente en una parte de la vida de Curtis cuyo trágico suicidio también aparecía relatado en “24 Hour Party People”. Sin embargo, el tono utilizado en ambas películas es diametralmente opuesto: la desenfrenada y cachonda fiesta continua que destilaba la cinta de Winterbottom se torna en algo oscuro y triste en el film dirigido por Anton Corbijn.

La película se inicia presentándonos a un adolescente Ian Curtis al que no le interesan los estudios y que se decanta por otras inquietudes y así, en su habitación observamos discos de David Bowie, un póster de Lou Reed o un cartel alusivo a Jim Morrison y descubrimos algunas de sus lecturas entre las que cabe destacar “Crash” de J.G. Ballard (algún día debería escribir sobre el gran David Cronenberg) o “El almuerzo desnudo” de William Burroughs (ídem). Introspectivo y amante de la poesía, Ian fue el típico “creep” que plasmaba su mundo interior a través de la escritura y que “se hizo mayor” demasiado deprisa.

Tras casarse con Debbie cuando tan sólo contaba con 19 años y siendo padre de Natalie a los 22, Ian compaginó en un principio su rutinario trabajo en una oficina de empleo con los primeros pasos de esa banda que tomó su nombre de uno de los burdeles que los soldados alemanes frecuentaban durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Inmersos en la vorágine de conciertos que les darían a conocer, Curtis sufrió su primer ataque epiléptico. Atiborrado a pastillas que le sumían en un estado de somnolencia y apatía, el cantante dejó su medicación por lo que sus ataques se convirtieron en algo demasiado frecuente que, incluso, llegaban a producirse en medio de una actuación. Sus fans solían no darse cuenta de este hecho, ya que estaban acostumbrados a sus habituales movimientos espasmódicos cuando bailaba sobre el escenario.

Casado con una mujer a la que ya no amaba pero de la que no quería divorciarse, padre de una niña a la que apenas veía, enamorado de una joven belga a la que no podía abandonar, aplastado por la incontrolable epilepsia, sumido en un bache económico, asustado ante los primeros éxitos y con una gira por Estados Unidos en ciernes, Ian no resistió la presión y se ahorcó en la cocina de su casa el 18 de mayo de 1980 (el chiste fácil sobre la horrible “Stroszek” de Herzog, me lo ahorro). Tenía 23 años.

Anton Corbijn (fotógrafo de grupos como los propios Joy Division y director de vídeos musicales como “Personal Jesus” de los Depeche Mode) dirige esta película basándose en “Touching From a Distance”, la obra que escribió la viuda del cantante Deborah (Debbie) Curtis.

Rodada en un opaco y maravilloso blanco y negro, “Control” nos muestra el tormento vivido por Curtis y asistimos, así, a su progresivo deterioro en todos los sentidos. Siempre con un cigarrillo entre los dedos, con la pena pintaba en el rostro o deambulando con su petate por las grises calles de Macclesfield, Ian demuestra en cada gesto que su apego a la vida pende de un hilo.

A excepción de Samantha Morton (a la que hemos podido ver en “Acordes y desacuerdos” (1999) de Woody Allen, “Minority Report”(2002) de Steven Spielberg, “En América” (2002) de Jim Sheridan, la soporífera “Morvern Callar” (2002) de Lynne Ramsay, “Código 46” (2003) de Michael Winterbottom o “El libertino” (2004) de Laurence Dunmore) que encarna a Debbie, el resto son actores prácticamente desconocidos. Los intérpretes que dan vida a los componentes de Joy Division también reinterpretan las canciones del desaparecido grupo, único punto negativo de esta excelente película puesto que nos escamotean la peculiar voz del verdadero Curtis, aunque debo reconocer el destacable trabajo de Sam Riley.

Dotada (como no podía ser menos) de una espectacular banda sonora en la que encontramos cortes de David Bowie, Sex Pistols, Kraftwerk, Iggy Pop, The Buzzcocks, The Killers, The Velvet Underground, Roxy Music, New Order (la banda formada tras la muerte de Curtis) y, por supuesto, pequeñas joyas de los Joy Division como “Transmission”, “Dead Souls”, “Atmosphere” o la conocidísima y reversionada “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, “Control” recibió el Premio de la Juventud y el Label Europa Cinema en el Festival de Cannes de 2007.

Dios salve a los Joy Division   

El verdadero Ian Curtis    

Para ver la ficha de la película, pinchad aquí

Briony 

A Routine Script Bites Hard Into Anton Corbijn’s Feature Debut

After more than two decades as a photographer and music video director for some of the most influential names in rock (R.E.M., U2 and Nirvana, to name only a few), it’s hard to believe that Anton Corbijn has only now directed his first feature film. Control chronicles the last years of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis in Corbijn’s signature stark black and white style. Unfortuantely, Matt Greenhalgh’s screenplay fails to do justice both to the tragic memory of Curtis and to his far-reaching influence on music and those who loved him.

Adapted from Touching from a Distance (the memoir of Curtis’s beleaguered widow Debbie), Greenhalgh’s script regrettably resorts to many of the same clichéd narrative devices that characterize pretty much every other rock and roll biopic. Characters are introduced through stilted and artificial dialogue and are played by actors far older than their real-life counterparts.  Complex personalities are reverentially reduced to benevolent, idealized archetypes that live only to serve and protect the protagonist (most notably Curtis’s bandmate/eventual successor Bernard Sumner and music mogul Tony Wilson). All the while, the inspirations for the origins of classic tunes are depicted in episodic fashion. 

To be fair, it doesn’t help that Curtis’s (Sam Riley) actual life bore striking similarities to the seemingly archetypal tale of many other rock stars: he marries young to a woman he has little in common with (played by Samantha Morton, years too old for the role), then gains musical notoriety and meets his true love, Annik Honore (Alexandra Maria Lara). Tormented by his responsibility to his family, his desire for Honore, and the impossible expectations that his newfound fame demands, Curtis slowly begins to self-destruct.  It’s true, but in focusing on only those events, the film becomes familiar, even rote. If only it had come out six months earlier, its likely would have found reference in Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

But more than that, Control fails because there is precious little insight into Curtis’s tortured mind. He is shown wrestling with adult onset epilepsy, and the audience sees the toll that his doctors’ pharmacological experiments took on him. The film gives precious little explanation however for why Curtis was equally uncomfortable in both public and domestic settings, nor does it provide any meaningful reason for his attraction to Honore – she might as well be any other foreign, exotic groupie that followed him around.  Since the script is drawn primarily from Deborah Curtis’s perspective, it’s not surprising that this “other woman” would lack a well-defined personality; but Control is (assumedly) a film about Ian Curtis, not about his widow.  When combined with the thoroughly formulaic structure, the subjective selection of details creates only a rough thumbnail sketch of an extraordinary talent rather than a genuine celebration of Curtis’s life.

It’s also hard to watch Control without comparing it to 24 Hour Party People, director Michael Winterbottom’s frenzied bio of Manchester record mogul Tony Wilson, as the two pictures feature many of the same personalities and events of the “Madchester” music scene of the late seventies and eighties.  Even though Winterbottom limited Curtis’s presence to a supporting role, he maximized the singer’s presence through economy of storytelling. With only a few minutes of screen time, Curtis (played there with inward-focused grace by Sean Harris) was nevertheless depicted as a three-dimensional human being, alternately brilliant, tortured and loving.  That makes it all the more disappointing that an entire film devoted to Curtis fails to provide more insight into the man’s character. Winterbottom was also not afraid to depict other characters as flawed and often selfish people, and so it’s ironic that that film, which prides itself on “printing the legend,” comes across as a much more earnest account of the story than Corbijn’s effort.

Visually at least, Control could be interpreted as a fitting tribute that echoes Curtis’s music: haunting, ethereal and demanding answers. But for an artist whose singing and lyrics exuded unflattering honesty, this woefully incomplete picture feels all too familiar and uninspired.

- Steve Kabel

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This week marks the DVD release of Anton Corbijn�s feature film debut Control. Corbijn is a celebrated video director and photographer for such artists as Depeche Mode and U2. The film is about Ian Curtis, the lead singer of the band Joy Divison. It was based on the book Touching from a Distance, which was written by the wife of Ian Curtis.

Shot in color stock but printed into black and white to reflect the atomosphere of the band, the film deals with the rise of Joy Divison but also Ian Curtis� personal life. Sam Curtis does a bang up job playing the iconic singer, and the scenes featuring the band are hypnotic, marking a strong debut for Corbijn.

Photo Source.

–Mikey

já em cartaz inclusive no brasil o filme control relata a vida de Ian Curtis, o depressivo vocalista e líder do Joy Division, uma das mais influentes bandas da virada dos anos 70/80. O filme baseia-se no livro “Touching from a Distance”, escrito pela viúva de Ian, Deborah Curtis. dirigido por Anton Corbijn, que já é bem conhecido por dirigir videos do U2 e do Nirvana, ganhou esse ano com control o premio câmera de ouro no festival de Cannes.