Unfinished Plan: The Path of Alain Johannes

Filmmaker Rodolfo Gárate’s elegiac documentary captures a cross-cultural music star using his art to attempt to heal insurmountable pain and grief. The rock band 11 (or “Eleven”), although little known outside of cognoscenti in West Coast music circles (especially in grunge-era Seattle), was centered around Chilean-American Alain Johannes and his Russian-emigre wife Natasha Shneider, a couple whose intimate musical partnership is described in almost mystical terms (Alain claimed he first met Natasha in a prophetic dream). Their 24-year relationship came to a sad end with Natasha’s cancer death in 2008 (Alain’s mother also succumbed to cancer within that same time frame). The tragic losses become a catalyst for Alain to reconnect with the Chilean side of his family, which includes a revered national entertainer-father Alain had not seen for most of his life. Johannes gives concerts in Santiago and is well-supported by admirers and peers as he completes a solo album, although by the end it is clear that his grief is never truly assuaged. The presence of Soundgarden front man Chris Cornell speaking on Alain’s resilience and the challenge of going on living is poignant, considering Cornell’s own suicide in 2017. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)