Directed by: Wes Schuck
Premise: A documentary about a group of bands
crossing the country in an attempt to get to a musical showcase in the spring of
2006.
What Works: The Curse of the Blessed is at
its best when the film focuses on the journey of these musicians and delves into
their desire to create music and live the rock and roll lifestyle. Andy Carroll,
vocalist and bass guitarist for Big Brother Bad, makes some very astute comments
about life as a struggling musician and the film could use a lot more of this.
Many of the musicians are likeable enough and they provide a sufficient amount
of humor as the musicians make light of their situation, like when one gives an
impromptu tour of one of the band’s RV.
What Doesn’t: If any one weakness prevails in The
Curse of the Blessed, it is the film’s haphazard organization. The film
lacks a coherent narrative that strings its sequences together, and viewers who
do not know anything about the bands will likely be lost because it is unclear
who these people are, where they are going, or why. The film attempts to mend
this a fictional narrator known as The Muse, but he speaks in a half drunken,
burned-out-hippie dialect that doesn’t give him much credibility as an
omnipotent spirit. The Curse of the Blessed also has too many tangents
that don’t lead anywhere, such as an extended sequence at the beginning where
band members decide who will ride where. As a result, the journey does not steer
the audience toward a climax. Once the bands do arrive at their location, the
journey does not have much of a pay off. The scenes of the bands playing,
although well shot, are truncated and end the film on a dubious note, despite
some of the interesting interviews with band members in the latter part of the
film.
Bottom Line: The Curse of the Blessed is a flawed film. Its goal is to introduce the audience to some new bands and explore life on the road. For the most part, the film accomplishes that, but its hit and miss organization hurts it too much.