Through Montage of Heck, which was showcased at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, we get an intimate look of Kurt Cobain’s life as if we were taking a peek through a key hole. The documentary is the first of its time to be created with partnership from Cobain’s family, along with Chris Novoselic (Nirvana’s band member), his first girlfriend, and wife Courtney Love, all of whom agreed to appear and be interviewed. The documentary begins in chronological order, from Kurt’s birth into a seemingly normal family. His first years of life appear to be full of joy and showcase an intense curiosity and need of expression.
The turning point of the documentary, is when Kurt’s parents divorce, which affected him greatly — following him for the rest of his life. This deeply embedded root instilled a lasting fear of abandonment and rejection that later showed in his expression through music. Being constantly rejected and moved from one home to the next, Kurt shows behaviors that were screaming for attention, but no one was willing to listen. Soon enough, he found solitude in music and painting, which became his primary outlet. His artistic brilliance left us with some of the most raw and honest records of our time, that arose from a place deep within bitter sadness of Kurt’s rebellion.
Through the footage used in this documentary we see Kurt’s own drawings, poetry and diary entries, which give us a glimpse of his complex nature, along with his vulnerable mind that lived within the tremendously talented human being. At one point in the documentary Cobain’s sister Kim jokes about how she wouldn’t want to have a genius, intellectual mind such as the one Kurt had, because we see how much responsibility he carried towards his talent, which left him torn and tattered. The world seemed to be too small for a person like Cobain; he was beyond his time and unable to cope in a world like the one we are living in today.
Drugs became an escape, a substitute between the turmoil between Cobain and his wife Courtney Love. They were toxic to one another, like a craved drip to a feigning morphine addict. Everything he lacked as a child with a mother figure, Courtney became his fix and crutch to replace that void.
Through animations, we see his wildly active mind, pouring out anger from his life, mirrored in writing. Although, his life ended much too soon, with everything he did while here, he was extremely honest and open, leaving us with some of the most powerful music for generations to follow. He argued with himself and what society tells us to believe, which resulted in the creation of beautiful art, stemming from a life of inner turmoil. Montage of Heck, will soon release as HBO’s new documentary.
-Written by Brooke Forman and Argiris Sarris
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