Through the never - Film review

Yesterday I had the kind if cinematic experience one expects at the end of half-price Tuesday (which is what I call Tuesdays here, in Montreal, because all the films are half price). Emotive, energetic, well crafted, no pop-corn needed.

Metallica came to me at a time in my life where anger was rampant, hormones off the charts, parents totally out of tune, and expression had not yet been defined. I slept to their riffs each night, relished in the synergy of music with my own frustrations of teen-hood. It was the forging of my relationship with music at a very deep level.

The film “Through the never” is like no other I have seen. It is them at their best, live, real, and original. It is, I admit, for Metallica fans (or hard rock fans who like Metallica); It reminded me of what made Metallica such a special group within my music ‘bibliographical’ journey – potency, energy, wholesome metal.

Metallica excel in providing fans experiences that go above and beyond the live performance. From the ‘Year in the life of..’ era to present day, Metallica has allowed us fans to live with them as they create the ultimate in rock energy. Time and again, they have innovated on presentation. The S&M concert being the perfect example. And now this.

These demigods of rock have such a symphonic brand of rock that it gets the juices flowing, at the age of 34, in a cinema theatre at 11pm.

It was a film on Metallica. It was about Metallica; it WAS Metallica, in all their glory. It was not merely just a live concert filmed to 3D, IMAX perfection. It was an experience. A musical and lyrical exposition of what makes this legendary band what it is – An icon of rock in any form, anywhere. Possibly one of the few still about (from my age). It was sliced and diced to perfection, shot from the best possible moments during a live performance as good as any I have seen. It had a twist; there was a slick story line placed seamlessly within the fabric (and raw energy) of the rock. Scenes meant to re-create what the band’s best music, and what it may visually represent to the listener, meshed into the concert, which gave it the feel of a living, direct feed. I have had the privilege of seeing them live in my youth. This was equal to that experience, simply because it was so unexpected at such a time in my life.

(As was that experience; Metallica was sold out when they first came to Paris, where I was living. A month later they announced a surprise revisit; I was there, along with 20,000 fans who had missed out – it was not the 100,000 fan fest, it felt exclusive).  

The film does exactly what it is supposed to do; leave your brain with traces of the music, your ears humming and the feeling that you have been to an amazing live performance.