MYSTIFY: MICHAEL HUTCHENCE
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Written and Directed by: Richard Lowenstein
Documentary, 14A for mature content, drug use, some nudity and profanity,102 min. (Australia/UK)
Virtual ticket for MYSTIFY: MICHAEL HUTCHENCE is $9.99 CDN. It is for a 5-day rental.
“Affectionate, tender and takes his entire life into account, not just those fleeting years when he was on top of the pop charts.” – Benjamin H. Smith, Decider
“A strikingly original portrait of an enigmatic man.” – Ed Potton, Times (UK)
This film is a powerfully intimate and insightful portrait of the internationally renowned INXS front-man, Michael Hutchence. Deftly woven from an extraordinary archive of rich imagery, Michael’s private home movies and those of his lovers, friends, and family, the film delves beneath the public persona of the charismatic ‘Rock God’ and transports us through the looking glass to reveal a multifaceted, intensely sensitive and complex man. For an all too brief time, we revel in Michael’s Dionysian beauty and sensuality on stage and off. We listen to the range of his extraordinary voice and witness the charmed way he travels through life as he is propelled to world acclaim. But Michael struggled with the idea of success, the creative limits of pop stardom and how to express his integrity; a longing that shaped his life and music and gave birth to a desire to go far beyond the constraints of pop. A violent event strikes Michael and changes his life forever, fracturing his sense of self and robbing him of his connection to life. Made vulnerable, he is unable to navigate the complex challenges he faces moving forward and he has little defence against the onslaught of tabloid press that descends upon his world. Amidst the encroaching darkness, Michael’s newborn daughter, Tiger, becomes his one bright light.
AWARDS:
Nominee, Best Documentary/Best Sound/Best Editing, Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, 2019
Nominee, Best Documentary, Australian Film Critics Association Awards, 2020
Winner, Best Sound for a Documentary, Australian Screen Sound Guild, 2019
Nominee, Best Documentary, London Film Festival, 2019
Nominee, Best Documentary Feature, Tribeca Film Festival, 2019
