ENOFILM FIRST / TIGERLILY 9/10
DIRECTOR: GARY HUSTWIT
An Eno doc, in the manner of Eno – thoughtful, conceptual and “generative”.
By John Robinson
Eno:resolvingthe tensionbetween fine art and rock
IN the opening scene of this hugely enjoyable Brian Eno film, we find the composer/ polymathbopping around in his home studio, thinking about a composition like an ecosystem. As he works, we see him add weather, and even an animal population to his piece.
Eventually he tweaks some controls on the screen to alter the prospect of change – how probable it is that an event will occur again.
Eno’s “generative” – evolving, infinitely changeable – way of making music has been the guiding principle for Gary Hustwit’s film. Rather than a whistlestop life doc taking in glam rock and ambience via Fripp, “Heroes” and the Bush Of Ghosts, the idea is that the movie is itself pretty much infinitely variable, being composed of pictorial elements and whole alternative scenes which can swap in and out on each occasion it’s played.