The Clash revolutionized rock 'n' roll and changed young peoples attitudes around the world forever. Since then they have gone down in history as more than just another rock legend. The Clash endure as icons, not purely because of their music, but also as a band who stood for something above and beyond commercial success. In a world increasingly lacking in inspirational cultural figures they remain a kind of heroic myth. Their story is an epic adventure.
The Clash front man, songwriter, human rock 'n' roll dynamo and guiding spirit behind this unrivalled legacy, was of course, the late, great Joe Strummer. Joe Strummer: the future is unwritten, directed by Julien Temple will coincide with this extraordinary worldwide snowballing of interest in his life, work and contemporary relevance. With unique authorized access to Joe's personal archives and much previously unseen footage our film will dig deep beneath the narrowly received myths which surround the Clash and punk in general, to situate Joe the individual, in the broader cultural context of the last 50 years. It will serve both as an intimate memorial to a friend and an epic celebration of a global icon. A dramatic and humorous exploration of the man behind the legend, telling for the first time the inside story of his whole life, both before, during and after the spotlight of the Clash, to his international legion of fans.
Secret Agent Acid Thunder
Joe Strummer: the future is unwritten is not one of the better documentaries I've seen. It wasn't so much a documentary about Joe or The Clash as it was about how Joe ran them. That's it. He was represented as an egomaniac, self-centred, controlling and very unstable.
I didn't realise that that Rock the Casbah was an anti-war song. But then again it would make sense why they were so pissed off that bombs had it painted on their side. Oh well.
I find it difficult to review this film. It almost seems as if it was written purely for the sake of producing paid employment within the film industry. There was no depth to it. The way the interviews were conducted was cute and the special guests were nice but none of that is important. Where are the live accountings from the band or family about how they felt at the time? All we have are clips and bits from Joe himself; what's the point? Might as well have made an auto-documentary with direction from Woody Allen. Again, no new insight into the goings on of The Clash, no new aspects to be gleaned. Yes, I previously mentioned I learned something new, but if I was 10 years old and studying The Clash in my Advanced Music Appreciation 102 class in primary school I would've learned something new then too.
This piece may perhaps be better for those who were around to see The Clash live: people who actually went to the concerts and followed in the band's footsteps or perhaps just believed in the message they were trying to send out and interpreting within one's own words found a higher appreciation for their music or for what was going on in the world at the time; and perhaps even felt inspired to change something that they didn't agree with. They were all intelligent people, Joe especially; which is probably why he was such a prick as portrayed by this film.
I don't think the famous faces helped with my opinion. They didn't add to nor did they detract from the point which I'm still at a loss to understand, they were just there.
The documentary, music, The Clash movie Joe Strummer: the future is unwritten is directed by Julien Temple and stars Joe Strummer, Mick Jones.
MA 15+ (Infrequent strong coarse language)
120 minutes (2:00 hours)
Film: 13 September 2007
