Pretty Good

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

I think it's not really a secret that you have to be really a fan to get this. Because most of the movie is other people (mostly private persons) talking about what Bruce means to them, how they cherish him and how they show it to others. Little anecdotes of course come up all the time and some people are even featured a couple of times throughout the movie and most do the describe in 3 words "game".All that gets "interrupted" by performances by Bruce from time to time. This is kind of refreshing and you get to hear what you love too. But this isn't a concert nor is it about Bruce in a sense. But about the impact he had and still has of course on many people. Not every-ones cup of tea, but with a title like that, it should be clear, if this is something you want to spend time on or not

It is debatable, but I don't know if there are more passionate fans than Bruce Springsteen fans. Sure, they don't have a nickname like Grateful Dead's "Deadheads," but they don't need one. Ballie Walsh's documentary, Springsteen & I, drives this point home in the most unique of ways. Almost the entire film was created using fan-made videos about what Springsteen means to them. This documentary did not call for pro-shot, high definition videos. That was not the mission. These videos were mostly shot on cellphones, some on laptops, but the quality didn't matter. What mattered were the stories, the emotion, and the gratitude these fans needed to express.Some poignant moments include one man sobbing uncontrollably at the thought of the characters in Bruce's songs and their hardships while another man states, "Bruce taught me to be a man, a decent man." These stories show the admiration fans have for him and the influence his music has on his listeners. In addition, many clips show experiences fans have had with Bruce that you would think unimaginable had they not been told in this film. One fan, who was a factory worker in England, made his way to New York City to see a Bruce concert. Unfortunately, his ticket was for the very last row in Madison Square Garden. Miraculously, a bearded man, who was apart of Bruce's camp, approached him to upgrade his ticket prior to the show. The man found his way to the front row, astonished that this had just happened to him. Another fan, who spent his time as a Elvis impersonator, had the lifelong dream of joining Bruce onstage one day. At a Philadelphia show in 2009, this man's dream came true, as Bruce pulled him onstage to perform All Shook Up and Blue Suede Shoes. These stories are incredible, and could only happen at a Bruce concert. He is arguably the most genuine rock star and this movie emphasizes that idea. Walsh concludes the movie with what may be the most telling account of Bruce's passion for his fans. As Bruce concludes his meet and greet with a young man from the film, he takes off one of his bracelets, ties it around this young man's wrist and declares, "this is a sign of brotherhood."

This entertaining documentary film concentrates on die hard Bruce Springsteen fans: they tell us why they love the Boss so much and what are the sources of their fanaticism. Intercalated with interviews to the fans, are segments of concerts of Bruce. Sometimes, the fans appear in the clips: in perhaps the best segment, a fan who is also an Elvis impersonator narrates the time he got to sing with the boss in a concert after writing on a placard "can the king sing with the boss", and sure enough, the film shows footage of that very funny episode. Another segments I enjoyed: 1) Bruce's impromptu gig with a street musician; 2) a pretty, articulate young Asian woman who works as a truck driver (!) speaks of her love for Bruce and how he talks for people like her in blue collar jobs who do the tough physical job in society; 3) a British fan tells the story of how he was able to get front row seats for a concert in Madison Square Garden; 4) a young Bruce on a concert early on his career (a career that is now more than 40 years old!!) singing folk very much in the style of Bob Dylan. This film is not just for Bruce fans, though surely they would enjoy it most.

For those who know me, it's no secret that I'm a huge Bruce Springsteen fan. Ever since I got into music properly he's been my #1. Not only does he have what I consider to be the biggest and best discography but his songs speak to me in an overwhelmingly emotional and personal way. I find it difficult to articulate all my feelings towards his music but at the very least he was the artist who introduced me to how great an album could be. I used to just like songs on their own or greatest hits set to shuffle. But with Bruce and albums like Born To Run and Darkness on the Edge of Town, it was the first time I looked at songs as having a place and time and it made music 10x better for all my other favourite artists. Shortly after my big Springsteen obsession was when I started looking at music critically.So it certainly looks like this documentary, Springsteen & I, is built for me. Even better, it's coming off the back of Life In A Day, a 2011 documentary I saw when it came out, immediately fell in love with and it remains in my top 10 of the year today. I feel almost honoured that its crowd-sourced footage style is being used next for a Springsteen documentary when it could've been used for anything else. I remember the day they first asked for footage and I quite regret contributing. Unfortunately I was busy at the time and I didn't have all the Bruce merchandise I wanted on me. But I am quite glad I didn't end up a part of it because it would've been rather strange to see myself. And having seen it, I see what they wanted now. They wanted the charming flaws and quirks of real people.They keep in the outtakes. They keep in the eccentric people. They keep in the people who can't stand Bruce. They focus on people of contradictions as a young woman working on her masters degree who works as a truck driver and a middle aged man who breaks down crying while he drives. Just like the diversity of Bruce's songs, the film has its emotional ups and downs with its great sense of humour and people who are overwhelmed in trying to articulate what Bruce means to them. There's also some really entertaining anecdotes of people who've had encounters with him too which I'm glad they included and as they show people describing the events, it's matched with the concert footage. The documentary just encapsulates why I love Bruce. It's in the life he pumps into the world. How he makes everyday life feel like living life to the fullest. He brings people together. Through mutually liking his music and being together at concerts, in movies and now in movie theaters.Unfortunately, the film is rougher and not as sharp as Life In A Day. Of course, when you have a film that's from the footage of everyday people and there's no standards of equipment, it inevitably leads to technical flaws besides the one area the director has control of - editing and structure. Although pacing can't really be controlled in each clip, the latter is the one department Springsteen & I really struggles with. But then there's no real structure to follow so it ends up as stream-of-conscience which sometimes feels like repetitive fan worship rather than cutting deep into why Bruce deserves his many fans. Fortunately Bruce's music interspersed throughout ties it all together. Non-Springsteen fans and casual fans will probably struggle through it but for the small but warm community that considers him #1, it's bliss.8/10