David Byrne’s American Utopia is many things at once. It’s a euphoric celebration of humanity. It’s a call for people to engage with each other, their communities, and society at large, lest the worst actors among us get their way. It’s a reminder of the tremendous capacity we all have within us and not letting it stagnate and go to waste. It’s an exploration of one’s self and everything else. It’s open-hearted and clear-eyed.
Most of all, it’s a tremendous experience.
With a minimalist set, a dozen or so performers, and deceptively rich choreography, David Byrne has gifted the world a concert film worthy of standing side by side with the monumental Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense. Over the holiday break I couldn’t find time to write about Criterion’s release of American Utopia, but I did find myself watching it multiple times and thinking about it while doing all of the typical holiday things. Now, I’m sitting here with the film playing for my second watch of the day as I get my thoughts down on this Word doc. I’m also getting ready to have a meeting with my younger son’s case manager, making sure he’s getting all of the academic help he needs. These meetings are one of the things in my day to day life that helps remind me of the good in people and what we’re capable of when our focus is outward rather than inward.
That’s a reminder I find myself in need of on a regular basis nowadays. One of the great things about life is that these reminders can arrive in all shapes and sizes, from obvious and unexpected places. This is hardly an original thought, but it’s so easy to get sucked into negativity or the depressing aspects of modern life. Being open to finding solace, comfort, inspiration, or hopefulness wherever you can is a gift you can give yourself. I certainly didn’t expect to find those things in a concert film, but such is life and such is American Utopia.
Decked out in gray suits and bare feet, Byrne and his fellow performers deliver an incredible show. I’m sure seeing American Utopia in its stage form was a magical experience, but what director Spike Lee is able to do in translating the show to film is nothing short of transcendent. Of course Lee was never going to do a simple recording, and he puts his typically lively camera to great use here. Lee takes us all around the stage, highlighting each person on stage, jumping to an overhead view to show off Annie-B Parson’s choreography, cutting to the back of the stage to look out at the crowd (alternating illuminated by the lights and cloaked in darkness). It’s an eclectic presentation of an eclectic show. Highlighting the collaborative effort it took to create the show and then put it on film, there’s a great special feature that has all of the key creatives talking about the conceptualization of the film and what they wanted to do with it. The collaboration reinforces American Utopia’s central theme of unity. Moreso than most concert films, this really is an inclusive and immersive experience.
Criterion’s 4KUHD and Blu-ray release of American Utopia is a pristine audio and visual experience. I found myself periodically turning up the volume not because it was hard to hear, but because I wanted to be enveloped by the show, and it delivered the desired effect. Aside from the aforementioned documentary, the special features also include a conversation between Lee and Byrne that’s worth checking out, as well as excellent essays from critics K. Austin Collins and Jia Tolentino.
