Anton Corbijn Inside Out

Dir: Klaartje Quirijns

2012

**

Klaartje Quirijns' biographical document of Anton Corbijn's career, upbringing and current working schedule is far more unremarkable than the man's talents. The film is full of celebratory endorsement, old friends Depeche Mode state their love for his work, Metallica wax lyrical with Lou Reed about genius (which gets a bit sickening after a while as while Corbijn's photos are good, he didn't actually invent the camera as the musicians fall short of suggesting) and Bono does what Bono does best and makes a Bono-style quote that makes him out to be some wise existential shaman. I'm a big fan of Anton Corbijn, having worked for a record company documenting various photos of bands, including many who have worked with him, I am very familiar with his work. I also enjoy his feature films and music videos. He has a good eye for portraits, that is for sure but by the end of this incredibly vacuous love-in, I have to admit I like him a little less than I did before. There isn't an ounce of substance in what he says or what is said about him, it almost seems like a spoof. I would have liked him to have spoken more about key works and seen more footage of the behind the scenes work of one of his movies. I don't feel I really learned anything about him. There is a section of the film that deals with the struggle he had growing up when trying to gain the approval of his father and a rather surprising moment when his mother admits to him that she wanted to marry someone else and that his father was a second best option but to be honest, I really don't care, that's his business. We all have problems, his aren't particularly unique and I don't think it has a great deal to do with his work. I found the whole thing a bit shallow and uninteresting and much like having a conversation with someone who doesn't really want to talk to you. He makes good films, takes great photos and suffers a bit from anxiety, so if you want to watch a highly respected and incredibly successful person mumble his way through 90 minutes of how is anxiety affects him then this is the film for you but it certainly isn't what I would consider a good use of time.