Words for the Dying

Filmmaker Rob Nilsson introduces—via title card—his fly-on-the-wall music documentary Words for the Dying as “an interpretation of something which happened.” Shot mostly in b&w, the documentary details the collaboration between musician John Cale and producer Brian Eno for Cale's 1989 album Words for the Dying, an interpretation of four Dylan Thomas poems. Nilsson follows Cale on a flight from Amsterdam to the Soviet Union to record “The Falklands Suite” for the album, intercutting along the way footage from Cale's days in the Velvet Underground (1965-1969), as well as interviews with Dutch critics, who fear the musician is losing his edge. Once in Russia, Cale and Eno lay down instrumental tracks with an orchestra, but while the former is comfortable with Nilsson's small film crew, the latter is not (Eno, who never gave permission to be filmed, says at one point, “Get that bloody camera out of my face.”). Nilsson agrees to stay out of Eno's way as much as possible, relying on surveillance cameras, for instance, to capture the pair at work in the recording studio. As the process continues, Nilsson alternates the focus between the central duo and their musical collaborators. After the USSR trip, Cale travels to his native Wales, where he records vocals with a boy's choir and visits his frail mother. Neither a thorough examination of a particular album nor an entire career, Words for the Dying offers a snapshot of an ambitious artist at a turning point in his life (the cinéma vérité sequences with Cale's wife, daughter, and mother present a softer side of a man best known for his brooding look and sound). DVD extras include a 2008 interview with the director, and a featurette on Nilsson's “Direct Action Cinema” workshop. Although the visual and audio qualities for this 1990 documentary are not optimum, this will appeal to fans of Cale, Eno, and Nilsson (whose Heat and Sunlight is an indie classic). Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)