Control (1 Viewer)

[Ambreen]

Trailer :
I viewed it again, two years after having first watched it in theatre, and my opinion has not changed : before being a biopic, Control is the psychological depiction of a young man overcome by a sudden fame and a family life he is unable to face, torn between two women between whom he's unable to choose and devastated by epileptic fits he's unable to control. The rock icon steps aside, all the emphasis being laid on the man and on the citizen Curtis.
The result is authentic, esthetically perfect, excellently performed, with a terrific soundtrack. A director is born.

 

[nervas]

That is quite a synopsis. I did enjoy the movie. I've watched it twice, was already a Joy Division fan long before, but it did make me appreciate them more. I think if Joy Division were more popular in the U.S. that movie would have been much more successful, cause it was very well done.

 

[Ponder]

The movie has already been discussed here: https://bukowskiforum.com/showthread.php?p=67227&highlight=joy+division#post67227

post 906.

 

[Ambreen]

I didn't remember having already talked of Control here ! Anyway, this film does deserve a whole thread. ;)

Nervas, what I meant is that this film is more the story of a tormented man than the history of one of the major post-punk bands. Between the first time and the second time I watched it, I became passionate by Joy Division, listening to them and reading about them with devotion. But the knowledge I've acquired didn't make me understand the movie in a different way, I still considered it similarly as the first time. That's thus not a film which would appear obscure to people not familiar with Joy Division, anybody can watch it without being lost. On the contrary, not anybody can watch a biopic like I'm not there without being lost.

 

[rjwink666]

Ambreen, have you read Touching from a Distance, the book that the screenplay is based on? Or even Paul Morley's collected essays on Joy Division. If not, then they are certainly worth checking out.

 

[nervas]

I agree. I read Touching from a Distance long before the movie and loved it. You may have already read it, but if not, do so.

 

[Bruno Dante]

I absolutely loved this film. It did a slightly different take on the story to '24 Hour Party People' ;)
If you enjoyed it, you may be interested by the work of the English director Shane Meadows. Although it isn't of exactly the same ilk, his work captures an England that has now all but disappeared and has the same nostalgic effect on me. His best films are 'A Room for Romeo Brass', 'Dead Man's Shoes' and the more famous 'This is England'.

 

[Ambreen]

Ambreen, have you read Touching from a Distance, the book that the screenplay is based on?

Yes, I did. I loved it, not for Deborah Curtis' style, that I found quite boring (the translation was actually to blame as well), but for the numerous details and anecdotes which don't appear in the film. And there are some very nice photos. I admire her ; being Ian Curtis' wife was not an easy job.

Or even Paul Morley's collected essays on Joy Division. If not, then they are certainly worth checking out.

It has released in France last month under the title Fragments. 600 pages, about 40 euros, ouch. I prefer to read in priority the bio co-written by Mick Middles (the first journalist who interviewed JD) and Lindsay Reade (Tony Wilson's - probably ex - wife).

If you enjoyed it, you may be interested by the work of the English director Shane Meadows. Although it isn't of exactly the same ilk, his work captures an England that has now all but disappeared and has the same nostalgic effect on me. His best films are 'A Room for Romeo Brass', 'Dead Man's Shoes' and the more famous 'This is England'.

I have to watch This is England, being interested in the skinhead movement.

 

[Ambreen]

This may interest some of you : The 2007 documentary from Grant Gee about Joy Division is entirely viewable on Dailymotion.