Lorna Irvine reviews 'an intimate, warm film' about the cult band.
American director Joe Angio's film about legendary cult band The Mekons is no small feat, as the band live all over the place-some in Britain, some America and one in Siberia (Lu Edmonds).
Brimming with the energy and eccentricity of zippy freewheeling editing, he charts their struggle for survival through archive footage of chaotic gigs, videos and interviews with the eight members, including Sally Timms, Dick Taylor and Jon Langford. There is an art school montage vibe, very apposite as they started from art school as ''an experiment''- an antidote to the grand pronouncements of the Clash et al. “We didn't want to riot,” they quip. “We were shit scared of the police!"
They may have gone from abrasive punk to post-punk to indie to country and back to post-punk again, but their spirit of keeping it DIY has never faltered. Stone circles, line-up changes and in-band relationships may all sound a little Spinal Tap, but there is nothing clichéd about this band--and Angio's enthusiasm for them comes through in every frame, following them on stage and off, even at the dinner table.
High profile fans such as Mary Harron, Greil Marcus and Jonathan Franzen speak of their enduring love of the band and their refusal to compromise in these homogenised, box-ticking, corporate music times. As Franzen says, relishing their outsider status: “They consistently resolved rage and despair into humour...they teach you how to be gracious and amusing losers.”
An intimate, warm film with a band who remain as enthused now as when they first formed in their 20s.
Dir: Joe Angio, USA, 95mins, 2014.
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