Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Overhyped DVD of the month - BROTHERS OF THE HEAD

From the makers of the outstanding documentary LOST IN LA MANCHA comes a truly bizarre mockumentary, BROTHERS OF THE HEAD. Using fake archive footage, the mock. tells the story of a pair of conjoined twins, raised on an isolated farm in the Fens. Plucked from obscurity by a mercenary band manager they are transformed into a highly influential punk band. The twins are corrupted by the rock'n'roll lifestyle, but most especially by a female rock journo, interviewed in flashback. It all ends in tears - an ending that is none too subtly hinted at by talking heads throughout the mockumentary. Frankly, I found the film dull. Innoncence corrupted by freak-hunting commercial bastards is not news. And despite a decent attempt at the costumes and some hand-held camerawork, the alleged archive footage never convinces. The film-makers just haven't got a handle on the requisite techniques. Worse still, the allegedly conjoined twins just don't maintain the fiction of being conjoined! There's also another aimless, sub-par script from Tony Grisoni. Indeed, about the only saving grace is the nice photography of East Anglia courtesy of DP, Anthony Dod Mantle.

BROTHERS OF THE HEAD played the festival circuit to wild acclaim and got a limited release in the US and UK last year. It is now available on DVD.

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