I saw this documentary a couple of times in the 90s and it made me understand the art of movie editing. The balance of action and stillness, silence and music: it's a visual symphony built from Brel songs and images. It has no commentary and it doesn't even attempt to supply factual information, but it certainly succeeds in giving you the impression of a time and place(s) and of an artistic journey.
I confess that I am not a massive Brel fan anymore (we sometimes grow apart from our loves, after all) -- I can now only truly enjoy his very last album and some select other works. Yet, I am sure that if I would be given the chance of watching this movie again, I would love it still. Its substance truly transcends the subject matter -- it is has meaning for and in itself. Unfortunately, it was only released in VHS a long time ago, and doesn't exist in dvd nor streaming, so this is not going to happen. Unless, finally, it gets the modern re-release it deserves. Much more obscure stuff is available nowadays -- why "Brel" isn't? Not even as a bootleg on Youtube. A shame, really.
I confess that I am not a massive Brel fan anymore (we sometimes grow apart from our loves, after all) -- I can now only truly enjoy his very last album and some select other works. Yet, I am sure that if I would be given the chance of watching this movie again, I would love it still. Its substance truly transcends the subject matter -- it is has meaning for and in itself. Unfortunately, it was only released in VHS a long time ago, and doesn't exist in dvd nor streaming, so this is not going to happen. Unless, finally, it gets the modern re-release it deserves. Much more obscure stuff is available nowadays -- why "Brel" isn't? Not even as a bootleg on Youtube. A shame, really.
