No. 78. (2020) BEE GEES; HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART November 30th.

 

Film No. 78 (2020)  Nov. 30th.  6:30 PM  LUNA  Windsor,  Nedlands. 

"Why don't we take a bar out of Night Fever and make a loop out of it?" (One of the group's sound engineers suggests a technique which would make Night Fever iconic).

The impact the Bee Gees had on pop culture through three decades (70's through 90's) meant a major feature documentary had to do justice to their legacy. Sadly only Barry Gibb lived to appreciate the brilliance of How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.

Frank Marshall is far better known as a producer, but as a director, has two major films. These films, Alive and Eight Below could not be more different to this stunning piece of real life story telling. Marshall does come with a great pedigree. Marshall's hand (production) in Boston (2017), The China Hustle (2017) and The Armstrong Lie (2013) (extremely good documentaries) cannot be underestimated. 

I came to How To Mend A Broken Heart with an appreciation of the music that has been so impactful on at least three phases of my life. How Deep Is Your Love takes me to my first job in a small country town in 1978 is an example of just one phase where my memories flow.

 

The story of how these British born Queensland boys found a magic in the harmony they could create, and the chapters of their journey, from stardom in the seventies followed by a bitter break-up, to then reforming and instigating the disco phenomenon and finally to writing music that other artists immortalized, is enthrallingly entertaining. 

Marshall never gets side tracked here. The doco gives audiences an insight into who the Bee Gees were, how each was integral to the sound they made, how they shone a light on younger brother Andy and the effect their deaths has had on Barry. The insights of band members, wives and sound wizards build the dimensions that make H.C.Y.M.A.B.H. a classic watch. One doesn't need to know or even like The Bee Gees to appreciate an interesting story well told. 11GUMS.