Unknown Brood

A raw, intimate portrait assembled from the subject's own footage, drifting between charisma and self-destruction like a slow, sad song.

Directed by

Dennis Alink

Genres

Documentary, Music

Starring

Herman Brood, Frank Black, Bono

Overview

“When I do my suicide for you, I hope you’ll miss me too,” Herman Brood sang in “Rock ‘n’ Roll Junkie” – just one of many announcements of his own death Brood worked into his songs. It’s a subject Brood, who jumped off the roof of the Amsterdam Hilton 15 years ago, often sang about. In Unknown Brood, a whole range of people look back on the rock and roller’s turbulent life, including fellow musicians, his manager, a former girlfriend, photographer Anton Corbijn, Brood’s wife and their daughter. Video footage shot by Brood himself and never seen before is intercut with a rich collection of archive material, including a humorous clip of Brood barking the Dutch national anthem. His sister Beppie Brood stresses her brother’s split personality: on the one hand the shy, vulnerable man wary of other people, and on the other the one who played Herman Brood – an extravagant, hedonistic junkie and rock and roll star.

How it feels

Melancholic, dark, earnest and cynical. Measured and needs your attention.

About

Addiction, identity, death, music

Content

Strong language. Mild violence and sexual content. No gore.

Note

Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Watch the trailer on YouTube (opens in a new tab)