Filmmaker Brett Morgen talks about unlocking the secrets of Kurt Cobain’s private and public darkness in a revealing new HBO documentary, which screened at the Miami Film Festival on March 6.
Courtney Love with Kurt Cobain.
When grunge superstar Kurt Cobain took his own life at age 27 on April 5, 1994, it sent shockwaves around the world. “How could this happen?” Only those close to him knew the truth, leaving the rest of the world to make sense of the loss without understanding his creative genius or the depth of his pain.
Director Brett Morgen digs in to Cobain’s possessions and captures revelatory interviews with family members and close confidantes in Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, the first documentary to be made with permission and support from the icon’s family.
Watching the film is like being a fly on the wall during Cobain’s most private moments; his artwork, photography, journals, family photographs, songs, and home videos are brought to life in a powerful and, at times, disturbing cinematic sequence.
The multitalented artist created both orally and visually from a very young age, leaving behind a complete autobiography that reveals all aspects of Cobain's personality. A heartbreaking childhood, a mysterious and debilitating stomach issue, a never-ending emptiness, and a love-hate relationship with fame were just some of the issues Nirvana's frontman battled before and after his band emerged as the voice of Generation X.
A young Kurt Cobain.
When Morgen was in town for the film’s screening at the Miami Film Festival, a festival he says has become a “must-stop on the circuit," we checked in with him to find out more about the eye-opening documentary that took eight years to make.
How did you land the director gig for this film?
BRETT MORGEN: Courtney [Love] approached me in 2007 and introduced me to the art that Kurt was creating throughout his life. There was so much more to him than what people knew regarding his creative output. Once I saw those materials, I realized I had the foundation for a once-in-a-lifetime move.
Was Kurt Cobain the punk-rock tragic hero of our time?
BM: I wouldn’t say that, but you’re more than welcome to. I think of Kurt as someone who was able to externalize the interior experience of an entire generation more than anyone else did.
How did you feel when you uncovered the private moments of a very private and troubled person?
BM: You see a side of Kurt that was rarely seen by the public. Seeing the affection and love for his daughter after you find out what happened to him...I found it quite touching. Intimate. I think where it gets very difficult is when he wants to be a doting father but he’s losing his battle to his addiction. You can see both sides in conflict. It’s important for understanding Kurt, and to a lesser extent, to humanize him and break away from the mythologies. For 25 years, he’s been associated with heroin, but we’ve never actually seen the face of it.
Kurt Cobain with daughter Frances Bean.
How much of what we see in the film is new to the audience?
BM: Eighty-five percent of the movie is rare or unseen footage. Regarding the music, there are probably about a dozen never-before-heard Cobain compositions, and all acoustic guitar is Kurt. Some of the orchestral arrangements you hear were done specifically for the film.
Did you have a lingering fascination with him from the past?
BM: I’m more of a casual fan and I was lucky enough to see them live in 1989 and 1993. I’m the same age as Kurt, and I grew up with a lot of the same influences, namely the underground. The ‘80s pop landscape was grim and pop music was pretty plastic then. So for me, Nirvana’s significance was a cultural one at the time; when they broke out, it was as if a cloud had been lifted. We [the grunge community] won the war.
We hear from bassist and co-founder of Nirvana, Krist Novoselic, but not drummer Dave Grohl. Why isn’t he in the film?
BM: It’s not that kind of movie; it’s not a talking-head documentary. It’s a very intimate film and it didn’t seem necessary to have two people from the band answering questions.
It seems as though the interviewees across the board have detached from their roles—positive or negative—in Kurt’s life.
BM: Everyone who was interviewed is haunted by Kurt, and they are all in different places in terms of how they have resolved or processed his life and death. The one constant that connects all of them is that they are haunted...to this day, more than 20 years later.
Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck premieres on May 4 at 9 p.m. on HBO.
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF DORA HANDEL/CORBIS/HBO (COURTNEY AND KURT); WENDY O’CONNOR/HBO (KURT WITH GUITAR); END OF MUSIC/HBO (KURT WITH DAUGHTER)