Strummer: the Future is Unwritten is a fascinating rock documentary of the late, great Joe Strummer, lead singer of the Clash.
The film documents his incredible life from his early years as the son of a foreign diplomat travelling the world, through to the 70's when he and his band the Clash burst onto the music scene. Then the dark years when the bubble had burst and Strummer had to find himself.
Director Julian Temple is no stranger to rock biographies as he first came to notice with his film about The Sex Pistols in '76. At the time he was making a film with the Clash, but the Sex Pistols proved to be a better option be.
He and Strummer didn't cross paths for another 20 years, when they struck up a friendship that was to endure till his death in 2002.
It's this closeness that allows the documentary to be so revealing. Temple knows his subject intimately and is able to demystify the iconic punk rocker.
The campfire was incredibly important to Strummer. He believed it to be a melting pot of ideas as people gathered round, bonded by the rising flames.
So Temple cleverly gathers people from Joe's life around campfires in London, New York and LA to share their memories and theories of Joe.
It gives the film a communal feel while being interesting and informative
What gives the documentary its amazing vitality is the wonderful use of footage and photographs - some from Strummer's own personal archive. It is colourful and eclectic and gives you a real sense of his world and those he was surrounded by.
The music soundtrack is of course fabulous. It features The Clash along with music from Strummer's highly successful BBC program broadcast to over 40 million listeners a week.
Of Strummer himself I found him to be soulful, generous, ambitious and quite the humanist. But even after such a dense film I still am no closer to really knowing who the real Joe Strummer was…. Wonderful stuff I'm giving it 4 stars. Strummer: The Future is Unwritten is in cinemas September 20.
