The Real Cobain: Un-Kurt Edition

The story of Kurt Cobain lives on in his own words

William O’Donnell, Staff

The legend of Kurt Cobain and his early death has grown as each year passes, sprouting conspiracy theories, rumours, and tales within truths. Kurt Cobain: About a Son is a new film based on private interviews with Kurt Cobain by Michael Azerrad for his book Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana (Azerrad’s definitive book that has sold over 300,000 copies has been translated into seven languages). In an interview I had with Azerrad, he explained that both the film and his book are aiming to “demystify a man whose complexities have been heavily eroded by his own iconic status.” Azerrad wishes for people to “check their preconceptions at the door before seeing Kurt Cobain: About a Son,” for the film does its best to portray Cobain as a tangible being, “with thoughts, dreams, and fears,” and not just a glorified celebrity. This film is an innovative documentary that lets Cobain tell his story in his own words, just as he did for his interviews with Azerrad between December 1992 and March 1993.

To help set a proper tone, the film does not use Cobain’s own music, but instead contains songs that Cobain enjoyed at different stages in his life. Azerrad notes that he and the film’s director, AJ Schnack, spent a great deal of time making selections for the soundtrack. “AJ had made a huge list of bands that Kurt had mentioned . . . then we selected emblematic songs by those artists. When you watch the movie, listen to the lyrics of the songs in the soundtrack. The passages AJ selected were not by accident.”

Both of these men put in a great effort to keep Cobain’s story grounded, while still remaining fascinating. So far, Azerrad has had some very positive responses to the film. “People walk out of the movie feeling very moved, and that’s all I wanted: for people to experience Kurt’s humanity.”

Getting to know Cobain the way he did, Azerrad believes that the film does the musician’s story justice. “So much of what was being written about him was wrong or even hurtful. The truth, while not completely pretty, was still better than what was being said about him.” Azerrad recognized the difficulties of relating to someone who many (including Azerrad) saw as “a legend in his own time,” but he found his method. “Getting to know him was a matter of compartmentalizing his fame and setting that aside, so I could deal with him as a human being.” This attitude seems to reflect that of the film itself.

When asked about Cobain’s potential thoughts on this type of film being made about him, while so much had already been portrayed, Azerrad responded with: “I know Kurt would have relished the opportunity to speak for himself about these things, otherwise I never would have done the film.”

In both life and death, Cobain is a fascinating person, and this film, being literally in Cobain’s own words, offers, perhaps, the most intimate look into his days before and during fame. “The music didn’t come out of nowhere — it came out of a very deep soul, and that’s what About a Son is all about,” says Azerrad. “Hearing his voice on the tapes reminded me not only why I related to Kurt, but why a lot of other people related to him, and still do to this day. And I hope that About a Son will do the same for anyone who sees it.”

Kurt Cobain: About a Son premieres at Cinematheque this month and runs on the following dates: Nov. 9 at 7 p.m., Nov. 10 at 9 p.m., Nov. 11 at 7 p.m., and lastly Nov. 12 at 9:45 p.m..