Customer Reviews

Peter Gabriel: Growing Up on Tour - A Family Portrait

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Given that much of his music is thematically focused on those places in the human psyche where we are most fragile, it is a relief that his family comes off as so, well, much like a normal family. He has surely paid a price for it, but it is actually very touching to see the daughters from his first marriage so adoringly supporting their father. Every father's dream...
They all negotiate the terrain of a younger second wife and new siblings with grace and genuine warmth, and Gabriel is such a Wally Cleaver at times, that it strikes you as intimately funny. The film is an intimate document, and maybe everyone was on best behaviour, but for all the odd bits in his songs, he and his brood are downright Englishy and charming. Given the sad disruption detailed in US of his first marriage, along with histrionics from Sinead O Connor and a joust or two with Rosanna Arquette, it's a miracle his girls would have anything to do with him, let alone go on tour. And while neither are quite the performer Paula Cole was, their presence alongside their Dad surely is a source of strength and great comfort for him. Maybe after all these dance hall episodes of r.d. laing's existential psychoanalysis, Gabriel felt the need to share some home movies so that the men with the nets weren't waiting at every portal.
It's all great to see how bloody normal they really are. Not every Brit is a variation of Richards-Jagger-Osbourne-Waters-Barrett. Yikes, imagine if we all were! Nor is everyone positively fabulous in that McCartney and Harrison sort of genuine bonhomie among their clans. How about that? they're just like us, after all.
I liked this film and while it offers nothing new on the Gbariel songbook, it has its own charm and honesty, and will buy Peter a little time until he turns out his next CD. That works...

What is presented here is a 35 minute film of Gabriel & co. (shot by Gabriel's daughter Anna) preparing for the Growing Up tour from 2002/2003. The content is fairly interesting, but longtime Gabriel fans might come away a tad disappointed in that nothing that new or revelatory is present. It is fun tho' to see Gabriel having a good time with his band and family.

The most interesting part of this DVD is also the most frustrating. As part of the Special Features, there is an 11 minute section from when Gabriel went to the Newport Int'l Film Festival to promote this film. Within this feature, we get to see Gabriel performing songs on his own with just a piano. Very exciting stuff! BUT, we only get to see mere snippets of him sounding great on songs like "Washing of the Water," "That Voice Again," "Mercy Street," and "In Your Eyes." Why the *entire* performance/appearance was not included on this DVD is truly inexplicable. But even just seeing Gabriel perform in this fashion for just a few minutes is worth it. One hopes that he will eventually tour in this kind of fashion -- just him and a piano. The other special feature worth noting is a short "making of" for the video "The Barry Williams Show," as well as the entire video.

$20 might be a bit high for this DVD considering the entire content is less than an hour, but $10-$15 is reasonable. If I could, I'd give it 3 1/2 stars as opposed to 4.

While I have been an avowed PG worshipper for the last 15 years, and he and his family are obviously very likeable and kind folks indeed, this documentary clocks in at a paltry 40 minutes in length, and has something of a slapdash, superficial feel. It doesn't really deliver the depth and breadth of intimate moments promised in the description, unless you consider a few quick shots of his new family, and brief, disjointed shots of his family and band mugging and horsing around for the cameras, to be intimate and deep. Not that I expect or desire an invasion of PG's family privacy, but this is just a 40 minute string of semi-candid shots in hallways, backstage, and on airplanes, strung together in roughly chronological order. There is one moment toward the beginning in which a band member makes a comment that could be construed to be critical of PG, and then we see a clip of PG, obviously inserted later, in which he is rebutting/explaining the context of the comment, which leads me to believe that this doc was originally a lot more substantial. However, one gets the feeling that PG reviewed the doc carefully before it went out, and insisted on so many edits that he ended up gutting it. But that is merely speculation on my part. We may never know exactly why this turned out to be such a trifling bit of video. One thing is for certain: You should save your money and rent it from Netflix when it becomes available.

Before I go rattling on, let me say this to the die-hard PG fan-this is essential. Just buy it because it's necssary to the collection.

Now for you casual PGer's and nonbelievers. Is this a documentary? Not really. In fact, I wish someone outside of the family would have done this, but then again, the subjects would have been much more gaurded.

Some reviewer suggest that there is some kind of softening when Richard Evans remarks that during rehearsal that they had only been able to work with PG for about an hour. Then there's a quick cut to PG trying to explain that away. That doth smell a bit funny, but then again PG is not caught snorting coke in the green room or anything. It's hardly an indictment in other words. Would his daughter do a "warts and all" film? Hardly.

What we do see is the human being PG, most touching is PG the father-a role he so obviously loves. Even though he and his band are acutely aware that they are being filmed and soon we peel off that last layer of the last mask of Peter Gabriel. We see a seasoned performer still enjoying entertaining crowds (ones smaller than before), but most importantly a man who has a wiser perspective and has survived the insanity of fame and even the rock'n'roll machinery. Not a small feat my friends.

40 minutes, is it enough? As you watch it, it becomes clear that like all stars, PG is a mortal man-who at times looks awkward, old, a bit overweight and downright ordinary. Even the brightest stars in their ordinary lives are simply ordinary. By the time the film ends, we have seen enough and are satisfied.

Peter Gabriel is legendary. This DVD is quite intimate with the insights into his tour but for me the real prize were the extras. Peter's performance at the Newport International Film Festival Fundraiser is beautiful. Alone on the piano he is magical. The video of the Barry Williams Show directed by Sean Penn is fun.

'A Family Portrait' is a behind the scenes documentary of Peter Gabriel and his band on their 'Growing Up' tour, as shot and directed by his daughter Anna. Anna makes use of black and white photography a great deal in this film and her close relationship with her father is evident on screen, and allows for some candid and intimate moments. There is some great extras material on this DVD, such as the Sean Penn directed music video (The Barry Williams Show), additional concert footage and more besides. It also has an excellent booklet with extra photos and a brief essay. This is a short, but completely captivating documentary showing another side of this wonderful musician and how he is 'off stage'. Well worth a buy if you're a fan of PG and this tour.

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I thought it was nice to see almost a home movie, yet very well done, about how close the band is, how hard they work, and what goes into putting together a tour. I felt like I really could relate to Anna. She loves her dad the same way I love my dad. It definitly shows in this movie.

Few times have I been able to complain about Peter. But this will have to be one of them. This DVD was an oddly-timed release, which featured backstage, personal moments from the Growing Up tour, focusing on the personal side of Peter, his daughters (one of whom was shooting this film, while the other one sang alongside him on stage), and to a lesser degree, on the rest of his band and family. There's so much that we all could learn from Peter, but the DVD carries a little more than 50 minutes of footage that leave you wanting more. It would make a fantastic feature for a "Growing Up Live" disc 2, but as a stand alone film, it falls short. Still, I will give it four stars because (I admit it) I am a sucker for Gabriel footage and material.