Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon (2011)
*** (out of 4)
I'll admit right up front that I'm not overly familiar with Kings of Leon. I remember back on 10/28/06 I went to see Bob Dylan in Chicago and there was some buzz going around about the opening act who had also opened the show the night before. Well, it turned out to be Kings of Leon and I must admit that I was very impressed with the band and I wasn't too shocked when a couple years later I saw that they were playing bigger venues. This documentary has interviews with the band members as well as their families and tries to explain the rise of the group. We see archival footage from when the band members were children and we get some behind the scenes stuff with the bad in the studio fighting and trying to come up with a new album. As I write this, the band is in the news for canceling their summer tour and I heard about this as well as the documentary from an article in Rolling Stone. I think fans are really going to enjoy this documentary but at the same time I'm sure it's going to make many worried as it really doesn't seem like the band is doing that good. I thought hearing the family members stories as well as seeing them was a rather interesting move as many times bands try to keep their pasts hidden or at least not out in the open. We learn that the brothers grew up in a very strict and strongly religious household where they weren't even allowed to watch television. The documentary really seems as if it's blaming their religion on their current problems, which include some drugs and alcohol. I'm really not sure why the documentary wanted to shine a spotlight on the religion and I'm not sure if it was the filmmakers attempt but it really did seem like they were coming down hard on it. I thought the best moments were the scenes with the family members because it's fascinating seeing how the relatives feel about seeing their loved ones rich and famous. There are plenty of scenes with the guy's performing at shows and the before mentioned stuff in the studios and this here is something I'm sure die-hard fans will love. Those, such as myself unfamiliar with the band will probably find some of the smaller stories the most interesting but what's more interesting is if the band will still be around five or ten years from now.
