Not so much a concert film as a film about a concert, filmmaker Salvo Cuccia's documentary charts the director's attempt to revisit and understand the circumstances behind a disastrous 1982 performance by the late Frank Zappa in Palermo, Sicily. But Cuccia, a huge fan of Zappa in his youth, is also interested in a broader narrative about his subject's adventures in and around Palermo—the hometown of the musician's father, full of relatives Zappa had never met. Cuccia zooms out from this history, too, asking Zappa's widow, son Dweezil, and daughter Moon Unit to look back on their lives and times with the composer, singer, and bandleader. Watching extensive film footage of Zappa's activities in Sicily, their flood of memories and affection brings a warm tone to the film, balancing out the strangeness of that Palermo concert, in which we see Zappa visibly unable to get his outdoor audience to calm down amidst a heavy-handed police presence. You don't have to be a Zappa fan to appreciate the film's overlapping objectives. Moon Unit's recollection of recording the novelty song "Valley Girl" (Zappa's one and only radio hit) with her dad, and how that brought them closer, is a loving story that holds universal appeal. Extras include a photo gallery. Recommended. (T. Keogh)
Frank Zappa Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily
(2017) 82 min. Blu-ray: $29.95. Music Video Distributors (avail. from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 2
Frank Zappa Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily
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