Junun

Less a documentary and more a filmed concert, Junun details the recording of an album featuring Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood and a group of talented Asian musicians (including Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur). It’s clear immediately that filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson isn’t looking to deliver a traditional (or even cohesive) non-fiction endeavor, as Junun has essentially been stripped down to its bare essentials and contains virtually no context to orient the viewer – with the picture instead consisting primarily of one (admittedly striking and captivating) performance after another. And while it does become increasingly difficult not to wish Anderson had devoted some time to interviews (eg why, for example, is Greenwood even doing this in the first place?), Junun nevertheless tends to fare a whole lot better than one might’ve anticipated due to the superb, mesmerizing musical performances and sprinkling of captivating sequences. (There is, with regard to the latter, a hypnotic interlude detailing a trip to a bustling market to repair a musician’s instrument.) The final result is a solid endeavor that benefits rather substantially from a big-screen, surround-sound presentation, and it’s apparent, ultimately, that the movie’s 54 minute running time is a perfect fit for Anderson’s atypically less-than-grandiose approach to the material.

*** out of ****