The Sun Came Out (E),
90 minutes
Music documentaries have traditionally been hit-or-miss affairs.
Long before every newly-released CD was packaged with a Making of the album DVD in a desperate attempt to try to counter the effects of music piracy, the music documentary was something of a rare beast.
That's no longer the
case, and it's a good job too, otherwise music fans may have never had the chance to experience the 90-minute joyous musical romp that is The Sun Came Out.
The film documents the recording of last year's 7 Worlds Collide: The Sun Came Out album, spearheaded by New Zealand's Neil Finn as a follow up to the 7 Worlds Collide live music project which the veteran Crowded House front man organised in 2001.
The 2009 version of 7 Worlds Collide saw Finn invite musical collaborators from across the world to Auckland during Christmas 2008 to write and record a collaborative album of new music in 20 days.
The Sun Came Out documents that creative process and is a fascinating watch for anyone with an interest in the craft of music.
Among the musical alumni assembled by Finn are members of the American alt-country outfit Wilco, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway, former The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, and Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall.
Naturally, there's a large Kiwi contingent on show also, including Finn's wife Sharon, brother Tim and sons Elroy and Liam. Bic Runga and Don McGlashan also make appearances.
Most of The Sun Came Out is made up of footage of the album being recorded at Finn's Roundhead Studios in Auckland, interspersed with interviews with the musicians, and live footage from the shows that presumably followed the making of the album.
Plenty of time is also given over to the musicians and their families exploring nearby Piha beach.
Sure, at times it all gets a bit twee, as the various musicians harp on about how wonderful their studio colleagues are.
But it's impossible to ignore the sense that it's all genuine and, as an in-depth look at one of this country's more unique recent musical experiments, there's a lot to like about The Sun Came Out.
3.5/5
