MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS
***
Director: Tom Berninger
Principal cast:
Tom Berninger
Matt Berninger
Aaron Dessner
Bryce Dessner
Bryan Devendorf
Scott Devendorf
Country: USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 75 mins.
Australian release date: 13 February 2014
Music films are especially interesting if you are a fan of the band. In this case the documentary Mistaken for Strangers focuses on The National, who gave a sublime performance of their album Boxer, at Sydney’s City Recital Hall, in 2008. Often compared to the dark sounds of Joy Division, this contemporary indie rock band has a long, successful road ahead and if you haven’t heard of them until now, you have no less than six albums to catch up on.
In 2010, the charismatic lead singer Matt Berninger brought his quirky, somewhat annoying brother, Tom (a ‘metal head’ and a bit of a slacker), on board as an assistant to their tour manager for an eight-month tour planned to promote the release of their fifth album, High Violet. Tom’s only claim to fame was as director of a couple of mediocre ‘slasher’ movies which, one suspects, were never released. You get the feeling that Matt had a two-fold reason for asking his brother to join them, firstly to give his brother something constructive to do and, secondly, to bond, as they did when they were growing up. There’s a nine-year difference in their ages and this seemed to play a significant part in Tom looking up to his elder, successful bro. And this sibling rivalry, it turns out, is the main focus of the doco.
Tom’s gig lasts briefly and it is not difficult to see why. He spends a lot of time ‘selfing’ and uses the camera as his confessional. In the meantime, he just doesn’t get on with the job, often forgetting to do things and giving his boss grief. The fact that he keeps shoving his camera in everyone’s face is also getting on everybody’s nerves, for it turns out no-one knew that making a doco of the band was his intention. He is also a bit of a ‘rabbit caught in headlights’ as he heads off to Europe for the first time and just doesn’t seem to get it. As Tom’s tenure on tour becomes increasingly fragile, so the relationship between the two brothers gets correspondingly fraught.
When Tom is sent packing, he returns to Cincinnati to interview his parents to find out how they view his ‘failures’ in relation to his brother’s success. His mother tells him that it is in fact he who she feels has the most talent, a surprise to all! When Matt and his wife (co-editor Carin Besser) invite him to stay with them in Brooklyn, to encourage him to complete his work, the film finally appears to be taking shape. In a revealing scene, Tom shows Matt his storyboard - a colour-coded puzzle that looks like a map designed by someone who is completely dysfunctional. When Tom finally pieces it all together and organises a preview of his film before one of the National’s concerts, the film breaks down mid-viewing because Tom, true to form, hasn’t bothered to have a practice run.
The National come across as a bunch of really nice guys, especially Aaron Dessner, who spends a bit of time on camera talking to Tom. The rest of the band seems to tolerate his weird questions and lack of preparation and are somewhat bemused by his observation that there are no drug users and scandals, considering they are a touring rock group. On the contrary, the band is so squeaky clean that we see them play at an Iowa rally for President Obama. How respectable is that, dude?
Mistaken for Strangers is only getting a limited release but it’s worth hunting down. It’s encouraging to see a ‘loser’ make it; when asked about his experience, Tom responded with, “You have to have patience with your projects and patience with yourself. That’s what I hope people take away from this”. The main criticism of the film is that the music performances are too brief and the only real chance you get to hear the band in full flight and see Matt go into ‘the zone’ is when they perform Terrible Love near the movie’s end. Shown at The Sydney Film Festival last year, Mistaken for Strangers should be well-received by fans of the indie sweethearts. The National were recently in Australia again, this time performing on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. You have to wonder if Tom was somewhere behind the scenes, capturing it all with his somewhat skewed eye.
Principal cast:
Tom Berninger
Matt Berninger
Aaron Dessner
Bryce Dessner
Bryan Devendorf
Scott Devendorf
Country: USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 75 mins.
Australian release date: 13 February 2014
Music films are especially interesting if you are a fan of the band. In this case the documentary Mistaken for Strangers focuses on The National, who gave a sublime performance of their album Boxer, at Sydney’s City Recital Hall, in 2008. Often compared to the dark sounds of Joy Division, this contemporary indie rock band has a long, successful road ahead and if you haven’t heard of them until now, you have no less than six albums to catch up on.
In 2010, the charismatic lead singer Matt Berninger brought his quirky, somewhat annoying brother, Tom (a ‘metal head’ and a bit of a slacker), on board as an assistant to their tour manager for an eight-month tour planned to promote the release of their fifth album, High Violet. Tom’s only claim to fame was as director of a couple of mediocre ‘slasher’ movies which, one suspects, were never released. You get the feeling that Matt had a two-fold reason for asking his brother to join them, firstly to give his brother something constructive to do and, secondly, to bond, as they did when they were growing up. There’s a nine-year difference in their ages and this seemed to play a significant part in Tom looking up to his elder, successful bro. And this sibling rivalry, it turns out, is the main focus of the doco.
Tom’s gig lasts briefly and it is not difficult to see why. He spends a lot of time ‘selfing’ and uses the camera as his confessional. In the meantime, he just doesn’t get on with the job, often forgetting to do things and giving his boss grief. The fact that he keeps shoving his camera in everyone’s face is also getting on everybody’s nerves, for it turns out no-one knew that making a doco of the band was his intention. He is also a bit of a ‘rabbit caught in headlights’ as he heads off to Europe for the first time and just doesn’t seem to get it. As Tom’s tenure on tour becomes increasingly fragile, so the relationship between the two brothers gets correspondingly fraught.
When Tom is sent packing, he returns to Cincinnati to interview his parents to find out how they view his ‘failures’ in relation to his brother’s success. His mother tells him that it is in fact he who she feels has the most talent, a surprise to all! When Matt and his wife (co-editor Carin Besser) invite him to stay with them in Brooklyn, to encourage him to complete his work, the film finally appears to be taking shape. In a revealing scene, Tom shows Matt his storyboard - a colour-coded puzzle that looks like a map designed by someone who is completely dysfunctional. When Tom finally pieces it all together and organises a preview of his film before one of the National’s concerts, the film breaks down mid-viewing because Tom, true to form, hasn’t bothered to have a practice run.
The National come across as a bunch of really nice guys, especially Aaron Dessner, who spends a bit of time on camera talking to Tom. The rest of the band seems to tolerate his weird questions and lack of preparation and are somewhat bemused by his observation that there are no drug users and scandals, considering they are a touring rock group. On the contrary, the band is so squeaky clean that we see them play at an Iowa rally for President Obama. How respectable is that, dude?
Mistaken for Strangers is only getting a limited release but it’s worth hunting down. It’s encouraging to see a ‘loser’ make it; when asked about his experience, Tom responded with, “You have to have patience with your projects and patience with yourself. That’s what I hope people take away from this”. The main criticism of the film is that the music performances are too brief and the only real chance you get to hear the band in full flight and see Matt go into ‘the zone’ is when they perform Terrible Love near the movie’s end. Shown at The Sydney Film Festival last year, Mistaken for Strangers should be well-received by fans of the indie sweethearts. The National were recently in Australia again, this time performing on the steps of the Sydney Opera House. You have to wonder if Tom was somewhere behind the scenes, capturing it all with his somewhat skewed eye.