Clarence Clemons: Who Do I Think I Am?

An example of artistic overreach paired with underwhelming substance, this documentary comes up short in telling viewers who Bruce Springsteen’s fabled sideman and saxophonist in the E Street Band really was offstage. Clarence Clemons, who died in 2011 at age 69, is both a past and present figure in this film by Nick Mead, whose original footage of the legendary sax man is interspersed with interviews of many who speak about Clemons after his passing. The documentary began production following Springsteen and the E Street Band’s lengthy "Rising Tour" in 2003. Clemons is heard on the soundtrack saying that after eight months on the road, he’s "in need of repairs," one of many unfortunately scripted statements by Clemons here that are vague, enigmatic, and celebrity-style spiritual-seeking vapid. The film’s most unexpected section follows Clemons on a trip to an industrial town in Northeast China, where he investigates religious practices, yet even this looks affected. As Springsteen’s longtime fans know, Clemons’ was the "Big Man" in E Street lore, around whom Springsteen constructed a larger-than-life mythology that audiences adored. Viewers get some clues about his formative years from aunts who helped raise him in Virginia, and a white friend from Clemons’s childhood describes how racial segregation made it hard for them to play together. While Springsteen is not interviewed, E Street member Nils Lofgren is here to share recollections. But Mead’s infatuation with recording Clemons with curious Chinese crowds—while also leaning heavily on faux-mysterious visual motifs—eclipses the director’s ability to tell us more about the actual man inside the Big Man. Optional. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)