Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell

Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell (2008)
Director: Matt Wolf

Synopsis: The life and work of American musician, Arthur Russell.

Review: Wild Combination has a fascinating subject in form of avant-garde musician, Arthur Russell. The only problem is the short running time (70 minutes) which frustrates the ability of the documentary to realistically broaden out and elucidate on its topic, with its two key areas (the man and his music) being conveyed in a whistlestop fashion.

The poignancy of Russell’s very plain and orthodox rural Iowan upbringing, counterbalanced with the bohemianism of his latter New York lifestyle could have made for a fascinating contrast (particularly the grace and humility with which Russell’s parents accepted his metamorphosis), and would no doubt have been revealing about the form and the style of his music. That this documentary proves unable to do that is no fault of the filmmaker Matt Wolf, who deserves credit for simply getting this story out there. Let’s hope that Wild Combination proves a useful introduction for curious minds looking to rediscover this very unique American musical life. (December 2008)