This is a really good portrayal of mental illness and the toll it takes on an artist, as well as on those around the victim.
Daniel Johnston is a folk singer who's gotten sort of well known. He also suffers from manic depression, with bouts of delusion. This documentary is basically his life story, but it's told in an interesting way, since Johnston himself constantly kept audio diaries and made home videos, in addition to his already-personal songs, so many of the important moments in his life are captured here. I also appreciated the fact that the filmmakers didn't try to whitewash Johnston's behavior. As much as I like his music, there's no doubt that he is a disturbed individual.
So, yeah, if you're into music documentaries, you'll definitely dig this, obviously. It's hard and kind of scary to watch at times (there are many video clips of Johnston flat out losing it, babbling about the Devil, etc.), but it is a very touching story.
Daniel Johnston is a folk singer who's gotten sort of well known. He also suffers from manic depression, with bouts of delusion. This documentary is basically his life story, but it's told in an interesting way, since Johnston himself constantly kept audio diaries and made home videos, in addition to his already-personal songs, so many of the important moments in his life are captured here. I also appreciated the fact that the filmmakers didn't try to whitewash Johnston's behavior. As much as I like his music, there's no doubt that he is a disturbed individual.
So, yeah, if you're into music documentaries, you'll definitely dig this, obviously. It's hard and kind of scary to watch at times (there are many video clips of Johnston flat out losing it, babbling about the Devil, etc.), but it is a very touching story.
