• Starring: Kurt Cobain
  • Summary: An intimate and moving meditation on the late musician and artist Kurt Cobain, based on more than 25 hours of previously unheard audiotaped interviews conducted with Cobain by noted music journalist Michael Azerrad for his book "Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana." In the film, Kurt Cobain recounts his own life - from his childhood and adolescence to his days of musical discovery and later dealings with explosive fame - and offers often piercing insights into his life, music, and times. The conversations heard in the film have never before been made public and they reveal a highly personal portrait of an artist much discussed but not particularly well understood. (Sidetrack Films) Expand
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Negative: 1 out of 17
  1. Reviewed by: Mark Bell
    90
    Everyone involved with the film brings their top talents to the fore, and the result is a touching, heartbreaking and an ultimately honest personal experience.
  2. 50
    Only loosely connected to the story, the visuals quickly grow monotonous, and as the chronicle arrives at Cobain's late years of curdled fame and fortune, his bitterness and cynicism make even the narration hard to take.
  3. Reviewed by: Joel Selvin
    25
    Never penetrates Cobain's circumstances or character.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. CharlotteS.
    9
    Didn't really know what to expect given the up and down reviews I found online but in the end I thought this was an amazing look into Kurt's world and beautifully put together. It was rather haunting to hear his voice and how conflicted he was. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. PaulK.
    8
    If you're a fan, this is definitely worth checking out. I thought the re-created images to go along w/ the phone taped interviews worked in some parts but not others. I liked the live photos of nirvana at the end. I wish there would have been more real documentation to accompany Kurt's words. As it stands, it's a detached and odd feeling documentary. Appropriate enough, given the subject. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. JayH.
    5
    A good documentary is one that will engross you in the subject, whether you have an interest in it or not. On this level, About a Son fails. I didn't care about Kurt Cobain before watching, during it, or after it. It is painfully overlong. This is strictly for fans of Cobain. Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 4 User Reviews