Is making a full length feature film about a group that refuses to sell out selling out in itself? Probably not -- independent film maker Jem Cohen put together a film that is clearly a labor of love -- ten years in the life of the Washington D.C. punk band Fugazi.

Punk is, by definition, a fairly limited musical genre. Removing the superfluous aspects of music tends to leave a pretty barren soundscape. Bands either fall apart (eg: Sex Pistols) or move on to other areas (eg: the Clash, Henry Rollins). Fugazi has remained fairly true to their roots, although later albums reflect a more diverse sounds, approaching avant garde artists such as Brian Eno or Phillip Glass, or RIO (Rock in Opposition) bands like Henry Cow.

Combining amateur video of early concerts with filmed sequences that are more current shows the band's evolution. Some of the early footage (such as the scene in a high school gymnasium where Ian MacKaye sings while hanging upside down from a basketball hoop) are of poor quality, but given that the early band was fairly raw, it works quite nicely.

One amusing scene from 1994 has MacKaye and guitarist Guy Picciotto being interviewed by an eighth grade girl for some sort of cable access show. She asks MacKaye about the origin of the band's name and he hems and haws and comes up with a mundane explanation. (In reality, "Fugazi" was a slang acronym that came out of the Vietnam War -- "F*****d up, got ambushed, zipped in". Not the sort of thing you'd want to explain to an eighth grader on tv!)

In comparison to a couple of other rock documentaries that I've seen recently -- "Gimme Shelter", dealing with the Rolling Stones' tragic 1969 Altamont concert, and "Hype!," the 1996 documentary on the Seattle "grunge" movement, I would have to say that both the director and the subjects really care about what the movie has to say. The other movies seemed more detached, while this gets down in the trenches with the band and their fans.

There are numerous poignant scenes, such as a compilation of violence at shows, cut with shots of the band asking people to stop hitting each other. Contrast that to scenes in "Gimme Shelter", where the Stones play on, oblivious or ambivalent to violence in the crowd.

One somewhat annoying aspect of the film is that no song is played in entirety. Some are stopped by the band, some are cut by the director, and others just fade away.

A band long known for their nonconformity, Fugazi charges low tickets prices and sells both their music and this video through their label so that they can control both the content and the price. Although not a big fan of punk, I consider their album A Steady Diet of Nothing to be one of the most important releases of the early 1990s.

If you have any interest in this band, the genre, or the subculture in America that doesn't care about appearance, standards or profits, check out this video.

This is available on VHS (not DVD) and is currently (2/01) running on the Sundance Channel in the United States.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving