I was expecting to see a film of rock footage and quirky asides as you might think a movie on the legendary alternative music festival ATP would yield. What we got is something a whole lot more than that and all the better for it.
For a film on rock concerts there was surprisingly little straight full song concert footage. What we got instead was insight into the motivation and vibe of the festival, and how this sits along side general music trends and more importantly what that means in a wider context.
ATP is a welcome slight on the rock star myth. Instead we see real people connecting with real emotions and expressing it through real music, and the audience who actually heard that expression and the effect it had on them.
There's more music around us than ever, it's on all the time, but how many of us actually listen.
That said there is some spectacular live footage and some stunning sound, but more than that Jonathan Caouette has edited the miles of footage into a message, a thought provoking and relevant message, and that is why this film succeeds above the just another rock concert movie option, which would have been quite entertaining in itself.
