Junun

Not an objective review but my feelings towards this movie:

Grew up in Jodhpur around the folk music and the surroundings shown in the movie. I wasn't the biggest fan of the folk music when I used to live in my hometown. Nor was I impressed by the congested and narrow roads of the city. Most of my consumption (entertainment wise) came from the west. Be it literature, music, or movies. I barely cared for my roots.

Now that I have completely shifted away from my hometown, there is very little of my roots left. It's absurd how someone from thousand miles away from your hometown makes you appreciate your roots. Thanks PTA.

In Spring 2015 Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood and a wide array of truly unique Indian artists were hosted by the Maharaja of Jodhpur at the beautiful Mehrangarh Fort. PTA depicts this stunning collaboration that results in an album called Junun.

Being an art-house documentary, PTA does a perfect job of simply guiding us through this complicated and inspirational process. There is no need for narration, the artists themselves are so interesting and creative that the viewer simply needs to observe. PTA achieves exactly this.

There is almost no dialogue as the movie intricately explores every member of the group and emphasizes how integral each little sound and voice is. We see silent Jonny Greenwood playing his signature moody guitar in the corner, while Shye Ben Tzur tediously orchestrates the process.

PTA shows us how various artists go great lengths to tune their instruments and just how difficult they work to get all the sounds and vocals exactly right. At the same time, all the group members are so deeply, culturally and religiously, ingrained in the process that it bring them true artistic and life joy.

It is extremely inspiring and beautiful to see and hear all the sounds come together. Junun is a truly unique musical album made by artists with highest levels of skill. Witnessing this process first hand through the creative and silent lens of Paul Thomas Anderson was a wonderful journey.

Vibrant, engrossing 55 minute verite music documentary on the making of the terrific titular album, which involves music by Israeli Composer Shye Ben Tzur combining with an amazing group of 15 Indian musicians dubbed "The Rajasthan Express", along with Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood (who did the scores for Anderson's last 3 features), and Radiohead's producer Nigel Goodrich.

No talking heads, very little set up or explanation – just a few title cards – and only a few scraps of dialogue. The majority of the film is simply watching amazing musicians jamming together and creating great sounds that combine a multitude of music traditions and ethnic roots. Anderson's raw observational style here (leavened with a few soaring drone shots) dances perfectly with the raw sense of the music finding itself. And the music is the star here. If it wasn't so strong, the film's lack of any sense of narrative could have been dull. But the music was good enough for me to order the 2 disc CD seconds after the film's end credits ended.

Perhaps not Anderson's most important or powerful work, but a lovely, playful but earnest endorsement of the artistic process. I wish the film was available on disc or for download. Currently the film is view-able 'Streaming only'. That means – long term - one is reliant on the deal to show the film being renewed by the site or service one bought it from.

I am fascinating by any documentary showing the creative process whether it's film or music. In this case the music being made is infectious with a terrific groove, i loved it. Not really anything in the way of how Johnny got to be there or any other details other than the amazing location and it was a delight, as a keen birdwatcher myself, to watch a terrific number of Kites come to be fed from the ramparts.

This bit of trivia explains a lot about Junun: "Much of Paul Thomas Anderson's filming equipment was caught up in customs at the airport, and he was forced to use the small camcorder in his bag and his producer's drone for filming all of his shots."

This documentary is extremely minimal in it's narrative. You are mostly immersed in the music-making process and do not get much back story on how these particular artists came together. The music, however, is truly exceptional. The way the songs build and each musician plays their part is often mesmerizing.

Bottom line: definitely worth watching, though I wish the real cameras had made it through customs.