The quintessential Britpop band, blur enjoyed chart success in the mid 90s with songs like Girls & Boys and Song 2, feuded half-heartedly with Oasis, semi-retired while lead singer Damon Albarn enjoyed mega-stardom in the guise of Gorillaz, and now embark on the obligatory comeback tour: destination Wembley Stadium. This observational doc is appealingly casual and candid about the tensions between the four on-again, off- again friends, who make no bones about being too old for all this shit, but who are palpably rejuvenated by the acclamation of their fans. It’s very Spinal Tap, but not in a bad way. This doc’s companion piece is the Live at Wembley concert film, also showing at VIFF Centre this week. You get snatches of that show here, but only tasters — this is the backstage movie, if you will.
An honest, funny and disarmingly intimate glimpse into one of the greatest British bands of all time.
Linda Marric, HeyUGuys
It’s wonderful to see the band retrace their friendship right back to school – the live footage from their intimate warm-up shows and the Wembley gig itself put you right in the beer-soaked mosh-pit.
Andrew Trendell, New Musical Express
Toby L.
Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree
UK
2024
English
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Cinematography
Sebastian Cort, Rhys Warren
Editor
Danny Abel
Also Playing
Lady Bird
Greta Gerwig's first film as writer-director is a delightful, painful comedy about "Lady Bird" McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), a Sacramento teen on the point of swapping high school for college, and her hard-working mom, Marion (Laurie Metcalf).
In the Mood for Love
Wong Kar-wai's most acclaimed and popular film is a love story about two neighbours (Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung) who are drawn together by the long absences of their respective spouses + a newly released short companion piece from 2001.
