The Future Is Unwritten

I absolutely love The Clash and, because I liked Temple's film about the Sex Pistols, I had high hopes for this. Like many other people, I found the campfire interviews completely unsatisfying, especially since none of the subjects are identified at all. We hear very little from Mick Jones and not all from Paul Simonon. On the other hand, we are treated to John Cusack and a pirate-costumed Johnny Depp. Matt Dillon shares a fascinating anecdote in which he recounts something a taxi driver once told him about Joe Strummer, and Anthony Kiedis tells us that Joe hired someone who used to drum for him. Gosh! If any of these people knew Joe in a meaningful way, they don't make that clear on screen. Why Bono and not Billy Bragg talking about Joe's political effect on his own music? Perhaps Julien Temple is hopelessly starstruck. The film's only redeeming features were the home movies, photographs, live performances and excerpts from Joe's BBC radio show.

This film is not worthy of the man who inspired it. I will keep my fingers crossed that another filmmaker, one who favours substance over style, will some day make the definitive Joe Strummer documentary.

I can't say anything of this movie by Julian... My comment is I want to cry.. I was really touched of the movie The Future is Unwritten.. Hoping for the next movie of Julian... ^_^ More Power.

Joe Strummer was born as John Mellor in Ankara, Turkey on August 21, 1952. His father was a British foreign-service diplomat; his mother, a nurse, was a crofters's daughter from the Scottish Highlands. The family spent much time moving from place to place, and Strummer spent his childhood in a variety of countries. At the age of 9, Strummer and his older brother David, 10, began boarding at the City of London Freemen's School in Surrey. Strummer rarely saw his parents during this time. He developed a love of rock music, listening to records by The Beatles and The Beach Boys, as well as American folk-singer Woody Guthrie (Strummer would even go by the name "Woody" for a few years, until changing his name to "Joe Strummer" a year and a half before the Clash was formed). Strummer was never very close to his brother David, but nonetheless David's suicide significantly changed Joe's outlook on life. After finishing his time in boarding school in 1970 Strummer moved on to London's Central School of Art & Design, where he briefly flirted with the idea of becoming a professional cartoonist. During this time, Strummer shared a flat in the north London suburb of Palmers Green with friends Clive Timperley and Tymon Dogg.

For those who didn't know who is Joe Strummer and for those who haven't seen the movie yet...

Julian Temple -- who filmed the Clash at one of their earliest rehearsals -- has assembled a truly impressive array of footage, including 8mm family films from Joe's childhood and a performance from the 101ers, his pre-Clash R&B/pub-rock band. There are interviews with Joe's squat-mates from the early 70s, Mick Jones and Topper Headon of the Clash, and numerous other people (musicians and other) who either worked with Joe or were influenced by him. My only reservation is that the movie might be overwhelming to someone who was unfamiliar with Strummer's work, or the broad outlines of his history, but I think even a complete novice would have to come away impressed by the sheer scope of Joe's legacy, both in terms of music and the influence he left on his friends and admirers.

What a documentary film that made by Julien Temple, Filmmaker Julien chronicles the transformation of a self-described "mouthy little git," born John Mellor, into an anti establishment icon known to the world as Joe Strummer. In his latest documentary, Temple uncovers the myth behind the front man of the seminal punk band the Clash. Through previously unearthed interviews with Strummer himself and recollections of those who knew him best, Temple reveals a complex man who used his music as a bullhorn for his conscience-as well as a means to educate others about the injustices of the world. The film includes live concert footage spanning Strummer's career and tapes of his BBC radio program, all of which provide a fitting soundtrack to his distinctive and storied existence. The performance footage would be fascinating on its own, but Temple probes beyond Strummer's mystique to reveal a person with his own flaws who could sometimes be idealistic to a fault. Temple has created a thoughtful and poignant portrait of a man many think they knew. 'Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten' provides a rare glimpse into the man behind the legend of "punk rock warlord." There are personal interviews with some of the surviving members of The Clash, as well as with people like Bono and John Cusack that are very personal, and serve the film well. They don't stand out as "Look! We've stuck a celebrity in here!" Temple uses a campfire setting for most of these interviews, and given the fact that Strummer used to Organize large campfire celebrations before he died, it's only fitting. One thing for certain is that the Joe Strummer we see at the campfires is a much more approachable and likable figure than the Strummer who avoids confrontations and has other people fire band members during the heyday of The Clash.

Wow, I was blown away by this film. Despite having been born in 1990, and not having got into punk 'til 1 1/2 years after Joe's death (something I'm constantly kicking myself for), this film made me feel involved in his life + the '70s punk scene, as though I actually lived it. That's the sign of a pretty feckin' good film, if you ask me.

I found the format to be fantastically original (everything from having Joe 'narrate' through his radio show, to the use of his cartoons and the campfire interviews), the content was thorough but not overly concerned with trivial details, and it was just generally a warm, involving + insightful portrayal of Joe's life and the British punk scene.

Fantastic. See it.