Home of the Brave (1986)

Nice effects though.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

21st century raconteur-troubadour Laurie Anderson shames the entire notion of the 'music video' with this filmed performance from her Mr. Heartbreak Tour. Perhaps the biggest surprise about the movie is that it wasn't made earlier: Anderson's audio/visual exhibitionism depends as much (if not more) on sight as it does on sound, and her recordings alone give little indication of the imagination and humor of her stage act. Employing a dazzling array of electronic effects and state-of-the-art musical instruments (for example a functioning keyboard necktie), she dances, sings, tells peculiar stories, jerks around like a marionette, and in general puts on a show that's as much fun to watch as it must have been to perform, with none of the pretensions normally associated with mass media performance art.

It's possible that, in an era of digital magic, the originality of Laurie Anderson's use of technology in the 1980's has been diminished, but one thing that time hasn't affected is her originality. The existence of this concert film/performance art piece is a testament to the unique presence Laurie created out of herself in the 80's and her appeal to a truly appreciative audience of the time.Assembled loosely into small "bytes," the performances in Laurie's concert range from simple statements of fact to speculation, to obtuse poetry, to accessible pop music to challenging political statements, to beyond-surreal vignettes about nothing whatsoever. The overall tone comes off as stream of consciousness, the language filled with dream imagery and non-sequiturs. Hypnotic back-projection accompanies most of the on-stage action, including an eerie, "OZ"-like moment where Laurie's giant, disembodied head floats above the proceedings, glancing around non-committally.At times the whole thing seems to unravel only to come back around to a unified center again--that center always being Ms. Anderson, the ringmaster, who is by turns sexy, cute, scary, androgynous and almost always remote...but with a warm twinkle in her eye and dry sense of humor never far away. That what looks like chaos must indeed be very well choreographed is astounding, and could only have been wrangled with the help of the brilliant musicians Ms. Anderson assembled for this concert. It's also well--if conservatively--filmed.Of course, this was made with college kids in mind and I imagine it was popular with the stoner crowd. However, it works as its own sort of drug, by turns seductive, beguiling, off-putting, obnoxious, bewildering and immensely entertaining. It reminds me somewhat of David Lynch's Industrial Symphony no. 1 but is far lighter in tone and moves a bit quicker. I doubt it's possible to get this anymore and will eventually be forgotten; I'm glad I have it and pull it out now and then when I'm in the mood to sit back and be transported to Laurie's odd 80's world for 90 minutes.

Laurie Anderson probably shows up in the dictionary under the definition of avant-guard. Only available on VHS & Laserdisc, never on DVD, it's no surprise so few people have seen it. For anyone brave enough to buy the VHS tape on eBay, what awaits is a concert film that captivates with amazing music and visuals, especially when considering the year it was released. Released a couple of years after the Talking Heads "Stop Making Sense", I feel Home of the Brave is the superior concert film. Home of the Brave is very trippy, clever, artful... in fact I'm tempted to pick up a VHS copy before this film disappears forever.

It's hard to imagine anyone else writing, directing and visualizing a film quite like this. Essentially a record of Laurie Anderson's "Mister Heartbreak" tour, this concert film is mostly comprised of songs and music with a smattering of spoken word pieces thrown in for good measure. Her more recent concerts have been a bit more subdued, so this is a good chance to see her with all the bells and whistles (so to speak).As for the performances, Anderson is radiant and off-the-wall as usual, and her back-up band is top-notch, including such talented players as Adrian Belew, David Van Tieghem and Joy Askew (with whom Anderson shares an amusing phone call in the middle of the show). And William S. Burroughs even waltzes through from time to time.Recommended for Laurie Anderson fans, and -- along with her "Collected Videos" -- could make her some new ones.