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The Devil and Daniel Johnston
- In theaters April 7th, 2006 (limited)
- Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, drug content,
and language including a sexual reference
- Runtime: 110 min
- 5 out of 5
COMPLETE REVIEW BELOW
Review by Jennifer Pflughaupt
Liste
n to Jennifer's interview with writer / director Jeff
Feuerzeig
The Devil and Daniel Johnston is a riveting
documentary about a mentally ill musical genius and
artist, directed by Jeff Feuerzeig. This film raises the
bar for all documentaries due to most of it being self-
documentation by Daniel Johnston himself with
Feuerzeig being the mastermind behind piecing the
puzzle together. Johnston was obsessed with
becoming famous with his music and art and
documented every step of the way by recording
audio diaries on thousands of audiotapes and filming
himself in both comedic skits and visual diaries.
Although, Johnston has a large cult following, much
like B horror flicks such as "Evil Dead 2", most of the
general population will not get the "musical genius"
part of Daniel Johnston. Nor will most be able to
understand the intricacies of his art. All you can do
with this film is watch and listen. Do not try to
understand Daniel Johnston; you will get a migraine.
It is like trying to understand the inner workings of a
madman. You can't. Daniel can be compared to
famous artists such as Virginia Wolfe and Van Gogh
who were considered crazy.
The Devil and Daniel Johnston portrays Johnston as a
little rebellious in his early years to becoming
progressively unhinged and outright delusional later
on. But through his madness he created the most
beautiful music and most intriguing art. He did not
cut off his own ear, but he did at times become
violent and his eventual fate brought him to a mental
hospital. Growing up in a right wing, fundamentalist,
Christian home, Johnston became obsessed and
ultimately confused about the Devil (literally Satan)
and this was the basis of his mental illness. The Devil
and Daniel Johnston proves that reality and truth is
definitely more interesting and bizarre than any
fiction can bring you.
In the end, as I finished The Devil and Daniel
Johnston, I had a mix of emotions. That is something
Daniel Johnston will do to you. I felt enlightened,
exhausted, sad and happy. It left me with a ton of
questions for Jeff Feuerzeig and I was blessed with
the opportunity to meet him and ask. Please listen to
the pod cast. You don't want to miss it. Jeff
Feuerzeig hit gold with this documentary already
gaining worldwide recognition and Feuerzeig won the
Director's Award at the Sundance Film Festival for
2005. You may not understand Daniel Johnston, you
may not want to as you get into the film; but this is
an exceptional documentary experience that you
must see. I give it five out of five.
Jennifer is married to a rockstar and is a "free"lance
film fanatic.
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