What can I say - what an incredible show. I was totally unprepared for the emotional impact of this program. I should have realized that a show about Joni would be anything but your standard issue documentary.
Everyone who was interviewed was so insightful about Joni and the times, and so articulate about the way her songs impacted their own lives and psyches. It's like that Whitman quote I see so often in the jmdl posts - To have great art, you must have great audiences. The people who shared their thoughts in this documentary represented Joni's audience beautifully with their sensitivity and appreciation for the depth and breadth of her work. I agree with everything that was said. And Joni, of course, was so eloquent too, in her interview segments. Again, I was impressed by the honesty and objectivity she was able to bring to her appraisals of her own art - but then, self awareness has always been at the core of everything she has done. What really blew me away was how brutally analytical the film was in getting at the mental/emotional/spiritual conflict at the center of her life - the security of a loving relationship versus the artistic demands of independence. But, again, for an artist who has bared herself, literally and figuratively, in the service of her art, why should the documentary be any different. I'm conflicted about the length of the documentary. On the one hand, I would have welcomed a project that ran about 900 minutes, rather than 90. On the other hand, considering the state I was in after watching the show, I doubt whether I could drink another drop and still be on my feet! Glad to see it's going to be available for home video, apparently in May or June. Just one humble request... may we also have every single tv & concert performance that's ever been committed to film, complete and uncut and without the voiceovers? Pretty please? :) Siquomb, indeed, Bob
