I love this movie so much

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This movie suffers from misleading advertising. This is NOT the definitive documentary. If you were looking for a story about Nirvana, the songs or the rock stardom then you will be heavily disappointed. I think this is a story about Family, Parenthood and Addiction. The tragedy of 2 generations in the same family that were cursed with dysfunctional relationships, selfishness, irresponsibility, self-destructiveness and of course addiction. Kurt was abandoned as a child, and he was tossed around between his parents and other family members, because as they themselves put it in blaming each other "couldn't handle him". And then there is Courtney and Kurt the married couple, the parents, the addicts, and the damage they could have inflicted on their baby. I used to think that Cobain killed himself because of what was happening with the music, and the stardom that he never desired, but after seeing this movie, I am more inclined to think that he was torn between his love for his child, his yearning for building a family that didn't resemble the one he had as a child, and his inability to raise her, mainly due to his addiction -some of the footage was immensely disturbing- I don't think he could bear the idea of the inevitable future of her being taken away from him. But then again, if this was true, he chose to give up and abandon her all together. This a beautifully made film, tries to go inside Kurt's mind and relive the events in his life that led to his tragic death. It is also the saddest movie I have ever scene.

Never has there been a more intimate film produced about the trials and tribulations of Kurt Cobain until now. Director, Brett Morgen, has been hard at work since 2007 rummaging through Cobain's diaries and home movies to take us through Kurt's trajectory from childhood to super stardom and finally to his untimely demise. Ultimately, Montage of Heck is the most honest window into the troubled and tortured soul of Kurt Cobain.Nirvana bassist, Krist Novoselic, sets the tone early with the heartbreaking and remorseful statement, "With 20/20 hindsight, you think, Why didn't I see it? or Why didn't I say something?" Though a sentiment, his ultimate end seemed inevitable.It is no secret that Cobain's childhood was dreadful and home was broken. This film shed further light on the fact, having been displaced from his and multiple family members' homes in his teenage years. He was an outcast and loner through his formative years, to the point where he attempted suicide for the first time, by way of a train, but fortunately fate went the other way. There is solace that his upbringing inspired such beautiful, though at times, twisted, art.If you're not fond of Courtney Love, this film will add more fuel to the fire. The most uncomfortable scene to watch is an array of clips of Kurt and Courtney clearly out of their minds of heroin, being ludicrous. Kurt and Courtney's drug use was no secret, but seeing the effects is undoubtedly the most troubling and painful scenes to watch.One of the overarching themes throughout Montage of Heck was Kurt's overwhelming sensitivity. Novoselic recounts Kurt feeling humiliated and devastated by a small time critic's negative review of their first single. Courtney echoed Novoleslic's claim in telling the cryptic and infamous tale of the Rome incident. Love sheds light that Kurt felt severely betrayed when his wife almost cheated on him, responding by taking 67 Rohypnol pills, overdosing, and going into a coma. This was a month before his untimely suicide at the age of 27.For better, Montage of Heck, ends without going into any detail of his suicide, as it fades to black and merely states the fact on a plain, black screen.This brilliant film does a splendid job of not withholding the gritty details and benefits from exposing the most intimate view of Cobain. There is no other subject as complicated as Kurt Cobain, but Montage of Heck will live as unequivocally the closest idea of the inner demons of Kurt.

I generally like the music of Nirvana, but I don't consider myself a fan of the band. Nevertheless, it's impossible to deny the huge influence they had over the music and popular culture. In the early '90s, the "hair metal" had degenerated into an empty spectacle in which the make-up and the fixative spray were more important than music itself. So, Nirvana appeared as an alternative which changed the face of rock and popularized "grunge" movement, lacking of artifice and with a renewed emphasis on the value of music (even though, like any other movement, it eventually became a victim of the same over- merchandising which has suffocated an uncountable number of musical styles). However, like its title indicates, Cobain: Montage of Heck doesn't pretend to deal with the History of grunge and even less of Nirvana, but with the singer, guitarist and composer who became an icon of a generation. This narrow focus definitely intensifies the vision of the documentary... but at the same time, it makes it feel a bit incomplete, omitting part of the historical frame which would seem indispensable to complete the story. On the other hand, director Brett Morgen fulfilled with his mission, deeply digging into Kurt Cobain's past until getting a detailed audiovisual tapestry of his life. Home videos, personal recordings, public interviews and Cobain himself's copious notes integrate with each other into a narrative which is a bit diffuse on its shape, but not less representative of his tortured existence and the traumas (and vices) which probably contributed to his depression and eventual suicide. The result is simultaneously interesting and painful. Maybe too painful. There are passages of the documentary which, in my humble opinion, cross the line of morbidity and feel tremendously uncomfortable. I appreciate the fact that Morgen decided to depict the raw reality behind the legend, but I think he should have invested less time on that. Speaking of which, Cobain: Montage of Heck includes numerous musical interludes accompanied by animations which bring Cobain's writings and diaries to life. These animations might be a bit disturbing (we couldn't expect less in a biography of this artist), and they are always accompanied by songs of Nirvana and other artists. The problem is that I felt them a bit longer than they should; they are visually attractive and they are useful to separate the numerous interviews and "talking heads", but they tend to extend themselves for more than they should, inflating the running time to 145 minutes. Nevertheless, I found Cobain: Montage of Heck an interesting documentary, even though it will definitely have more value to the fans of Cobain's. Besides, this film renewed my respect for Cobain's legacy and generated me unexpected compassion for his tortured spirit (even if part of that torture was self-inflicted).

Some will complain that the documentary doesn't focus enough on Nirvana, and there's a very good reason for that. It's not a documentary about Nirvana; the film is intended to provide a more intimate look at Kurt Cobain as a person and provide insight into his more private and guarded moments. In that respect it is pretty successful. Nirvana's history is very well publicised, and the film assumes it's viewers are already fans that know a lot about the band (Why else would you watch a movie about the band's frontman?) The films biggest selling point is that for the first time a director had the full cooperation of Cobain's family and access to the archive of materials he left behind, much of it had never been seen by the public eye before. These include home movies dating back to him as baby, behind the scene footage, and audio recordings. There is also going to be a companion book dedicated to never before seen photos and other materials that were unearthed. Unfortunately, it's not as exciting as it sounds. There may have been information I had never heard before, but none of it was surprising or profound. It all falls in line with what you would expect if you knew anything about Kurt going in. (I'm sure some people will disagree and say they found it shocking, but I didn't.) That being said the archival materials were well utilized and had a good presentation that fit into the story that was being told. It was nice to see them even if it was an over- hyped aspect of the movie.From a technical standpoint the film really is a marvel. The animated transitions were a great way to incorporate the drawings and doodles that littered Kurt's notebooks. There are also scenes featuring puppetry and stop motion that are also inspired by his art and/or song lyrics. These are all really cool and actually provide more insight to his artistic style and writing process than you would think. Additionally, several segments are entirely animated, and they look beautiful. Doing this is much more captivating than just just showing people talk about events or have a voice-over with a slideshow of pictures. It was a very good choice, and adds a lot to the viewing experience. The film's soundtrack features live Nirvana recordings, covers and remixes, as well as music by other artist that fit the scenes, such as the Buddy Holly song that plays over his parents home movies from the '60s. This is well executed and I particularly love the violin rendition of "Smell Like Teen Spirit" that was used to mimic an orchestral score in the longest animated sequence. Overall the film is an energetic and seemingly honest look at Kurt Cobain and the man he was. It was well made, entertaining, and a worthwhile documentary that stands head and shoulders above any other documentaries about him.