What's the appropriate response for a film maker whose close friend dies suddenly at a relatively young age. If your film maker, Julien Temple (The Filth and the Fury, Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle) and your late friend is Joe Strummer creating an inspired documentary of your friends life and achievements is an ideal tribute. Joe Strummer was the head of the genre beating act The Clash, one of the standout bands of the Punk era and amongst the most influential English bands ever. In December 2002 Joe died suddenly from a congenital heart defect, his death shocked and saddened legions of his supporters.
'Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten' is a wonderfully crafted documentary beautifully igniting the extraordinary life of Joe Strummer. Joe was born John Mellor in August 1952 in Turkey. His father was a diplomat and as such Joe spent his early childhood traversing the globe. He spent significant time in Mexico, Cairo and Bonn. The young Strummer was a sponge accepting and learning his strange and exotic surrounds. Temple has sourced some incredible home movie footage of the young Joe, his brother David and his father. It shows an alert, inquisitive and cheeky boy desperate to be the centre of attention - by the look of this footage successfully. At age 9 Joe and David were sent to an exclusive boarding school. Joe claims its where he learnt independence. Joe nurtured his love of music during his school boy days. Woody Guthrie was a favorite, Joe even adopted the "Woody' name. After school he moved into the 101 Walterton Road squat. Its here he forms the 101s with flat mates. Surprisingly Temple is able to present some incredible footage of the band. In '76 Joe was introduced to future Clash manager Bernie Rhodes and his future partner in the Clash, Mick Jones. Phenomenally Temple has footage of some of these early exchanges. He first started documenting The Clash in 1976. His footage of the early days of the band is truly remarkable it takes us inside the very first meetings and rehearsals of the band. The Clash were undoubtedly one of the bands of the Punk Rock movement, their story is one of commitment and unwavering political ideals. No doubt the politicising of the Clash was down to Strummer. Julien Temple charts their road to success with some amazing never before seen concert footage, interviews and informal banter. Their eventual success, especially in the US was to prove their ultimate demise. Strummer's inability to reconcile success with (Something he had strived for since the bands inception) his personal beliefs proved an insurmountable obstacle. Following a US tour playing baseball stadiums, Strummer sacks Jones and boots drummer Topper Headon out of the band due to his persistent drug problems. Jones was the crucial loss, musically there is no doubt Jones and Strummer were moving further apart but throughout The Clash history they had played the creative foil role for each other and judging by the last record produced after his absence, he was missed. 'Cut the Crap' was the only bad record that the band produced, it was panned by critics and sold poorly. The band disbanded shortly after its release.
Perhaps the most fascinating part of 'The Future Is Unwritten' is the discussion of Strummer's life post The Clash. The dichotomy that existed within Joe and his inabilty to be able to accept success manifested itself in new ways throughout what became known as his 'wilderness years'. He battled with intense depression in the wake of The Clash's implosion. Musically he recorded nothing under his own name nor did he play live for almost 13 years. Instead he spent large part of the 2nd half of 80s working in film. He compiled soundtracks for a number of films most notable Sid and Nancy and Grosse Pointe Blank. He also acted including the leading role in Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train.
Throughout his time in the Clash Strummer was renowned as a performer who was devoted to his audience he often spent hours after shows chatting with the crowd. It was ultimately this ability and a love of camp fires that rescued him from his wilderness. Throughout the film Temple conducts as many interviews as possible sitting around a camp fire. It became the central piece of the film. It reflected Strummer's belief in the spiritual and social significance of the camp fire. Through the 90s he conducted fires at the Glastonbury Festival in the UK, encouraging the festival patrons to talk ,sing and exchange ideas. Significantly it allowed Joe to engage with the audience again. Also at this time he did a radio show on the BBC World Service to an audience of well in excess of 100million listeners. It all lead to his re emergence as both a studio and live performer. With an amazing band in tow Strummer put together Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros. They released three great records and toured the world playing a set that was littered with Clash songs.
On December 22, 2002 Joe Strummer died suddenly from an undiagnosed congenital heart defect. He was only 50. It was a tragic end to an enriching life.
Temple's film is a triumph. As a director doing a piece on a lost friend is fraught with danger. It would be easy to produce a gushing film rather then one that attempted to produce a balanced work. To his credit Temple doesn't fall into this trap. He explores Joe's darker years and encourages the interviewees to present honest appraisals of Strummer. Don Letts, film maker and member of Mick Jones' post Clash band Big Audio Dynamite, calls Strummer a coward for his treatment of Jones and his actions around the time of the Clash's demise. Another touch that Temple brings to the film is his use of cut ins to emphasis significant moments. The most notable of these is a variety of scenes from Animal Farm.
If I have a criticism its the almost obligatory celebrity interview. Some I accept as relevant, Jim Jarmusch and Steve Buscemi worked with Joe on Mystery Train and therefore had real experience to refer to, but really did we have to get comments from Bono. His comments added nothing to the film, except his name in the credits.
I got a little carried away with this review, Joe Strummer is such a significant and striking icon of the later 20th century that it was hard to pull it back. Julien Temple has made a visually stunning and moving film, a momentous tribute to a lost friend. If you are into Strummer or not there is something in this film for everyone.
To download Joe dueting with Johnny Cash on an amazing cover of Bob Marley's Redemption Song. Also videos 'The Future is Unwritten' Trailer
Joe Strummer and Johnny Cash - Redemption Song
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten Trailer.
The Clash Live from 1979 - Complete Control / Safe European Home
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