Event
Janis: Little Girl Blue
Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg (Deliver Us from Evil) delves into the life of late rock legend Janis Joplin.
Since her death from a heroin overdose in 1970 at age twenty-seven, Janis Joplin has been a ubiquitous presence on posters, T-shirts, and classic-rock radio. In this documentary, she reverts from an icon back into a human being.
Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg excavates unseen material, interviews Joplin’s confidantes and uncovers personal letters. The resulting portrait gives us fresh insight into the mighty talent behind famous versions of “Piece of My Heart,” “Cry Baby,” and “Me and Bobby McGee.”
On stage and on camera, Joplin frequently projected an image of being high and happy-go-lucky. Berg’s film reveals a more vulnerable character who cycled in and out of addictions and channelled her emotions into her art. Singer Cat Power (a.k.a. Chan Marshall) does an uncanny job of recreating Joplin’s voice in readings from her letters. But the dominant voice is Joplin’s own, in extraordinary performances drawn from both classic and rare footage.
"It's the focus on the art and the artist, and not on her demise, that makes Amy Berg's documentary so electrifying."
"a heartfelt, engrossing tribute."
"loving, exhaustively-researched documentary...the movie is a fan's appreciation of how much exuberant fun Joplin could be"
"The film sustains a double vision of both the child and the hard-living folk-blues mama Joplin became."
"the rare documentary that focuses solely on the life of the late singer...director Amy Berg paints an intimate portrait of a woman. Joplin emerges as we've never seen her before"
