john m
The style is probably super annoying and pretentious throughout this but I don't care because the live performances, and some of the editing is actually kind of cool. It doesn't really dive into a whole lot about Haiti and its musical and political history, which is obviously a giant influence on "Reflektor" and Arcade Fire as a whole, but this piece is more a series of jumbled memories and feelings as opposed to a straight doc, which works.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I don't mind their music, but holy hell this band thinks they're far more essential than they actually are.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
01/28/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Penca el documental, en pocas palabras. ¿Pq? Sea lo que sea que uno haga en obras literarias o audiovisuales tiene que haber algún hilo conductor, alguna coherencia. The Reflektor Tapes carece de eso. Es demasiado random. No es un concierto, no es un documental biográfico riguroso, no es cine arte, no son buenos remixes de las canciones. Hasta Richard Reed opinaba eso en la entrevista post documental. Es tan random que no es nada realmente. Un ejemplo: el otro día vi el documental "The possibilities are endless" (sobre el accidente cerebro vascular del one hit wonder Edwyn Collins), y aunque carecía de rigor biográfico si tenía pretensión de cine arte... y triunfaba en ello. Era difuso, pero tenía el hilo conductor de traspasar la angustia de Collins y su esposa al espectador mediante imágenes cine arte.
Destaco si que The Reflektor Tapes es un documento visual de la estética de la era Reflektor de Arcade Fire. Lindas vestimentas y puesta en escena. También al menos cumple con poner de manifiesto como vive Regine Chassagne la herencia cultural del país de sus ancestros (Haití). Pero no lo vería de nuevo si, ese es mi pensamiento principal. Y si uno piensa así es que la cosa era mala po, ninguna obra maestra. Falló en muchos niveles.
Rated 1.5/5 Stars •
Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars
01/27/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Don't believe the critics reviews, this is a really decent representation of the whole Reflektor period and process. The visual creativity on show here is an equal to the music. As they say at the end, look upon it as a video remix of the album.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/29/23
Full Review
Audience Member
'Arcade Fire: The Reflektor Tapes' documents the making of the Montreal bands' fourth album, 'Reflektor', while incorporating personal and live footage, all while being artsy.
The documentary is too artsy. It doesn't quite stick to a 'making of' or a concert film, it's simply director Khalil Joseph's vision or take on this period in Arcade Fire's career.
As much as the footage is stunning and vibrant, it did nothing for me.
If you are a fan of the band, see it, if not skip it.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
02/16/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Your tolerance of this film will heavily depend upon just how much you love this band; luckily for Kahlil Joseph & co, I basically adore them. This is an unabashedly arty and pretentious piece, scattershot and disconnected in its approach - but isn't that the whole point? Probably not. But it could be. Taking remixed and deconstructed excerpts from their latest record Reflektor, this abstract documentary follows no tangible line of enquiry, nor does it attempt to construct a narrative of any kind. Instead, Joseph artfully curates something with a semblance of a film using rugged handheld footage in the studio, in Jamaica and in Haiti alongside some glossy steady-cam shots of the band live on stage.
Whilst the film being insistent in retaining Arcade Fire's carefully maintained layers of ambiguity and privacy may frustrate some, for me it strikes a perfect balance. Besides, whilst it may not pry into their personal lives at all, this film does deliver insight into the band's recording process and provides fascinating footage of their time in Jamaica, discovering and exploring the sounds around them, scenes which will no doubt enrich the aural experience of listening to Reflektor next time around.
For many, the band's flaws shine through this inherently flawed rockumentary: pretentious, po-faced and aesthetic obsessed, with little meaning beyond the artrock surface. I don't see it, personally. I still love Arcade Fire, in fact I probably love them more after this (especially RÃ (C)gine, who shows an endearing sense of vulnerability in a few scenes), an achievement if there ever was one. Even in a sea of alleged pretentiousness and glossy surface musing, there is emotional nourishment: case in point, Win sat alone, singing the lyrics to It's Never Over (Oh Orpheus), lost in the music.
It's a heartening scene in a muddled but audacious masterpiece that is a natural extension of Arcade Fire's ideas at this particular time and has left me yearning more than ever for whatever they release next.
(This score is fully influenced by my love for this band - this is of course not a 5 star film. Still much better than the reviews suggest though)
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/12/23
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