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    Instrument

    1999     Documentary    
    Italy/USA
    1h 55min
    14A

    This collaborative project with Fugazi documents the seminal "post-hardcore" band from 1987 to 1996 as they explode in popularity without breaking with their strict codes of ethics and independence. Featuring punk icon Ian MacKaye -- who is credited with coining the term "straight-edge," a movement that rejected drugs and alcohol, among other excesses of Western Civilization -- Fugazi live their songs' lyrics, playing and producing music cheaply. No merchandise, no corporate label, not even set lists, prevent them from being an instrument of any greater force than that of their own creation. Cohen's patchwork of Super 8, 16mm and video footage fits the rebellious function in this mesmerizing diary that drifts on and off stage, in and out of sync, from electric performances to the mundane reality of being a band -- all of whose members seem sweeter, funnier and less dramatic than their onstage presences would suggest.

    Directed byJem Cohen

    Featuring

    Brendan Canty
    Joe Lally
    Ian MacKaye
    Guy Picciotto

    © Studio&Distr.