Up front, I'll admit to being a HUGE fan of Bourdain, and, like many, was devastated when the news broke he had completed suicide in 2018 while on location for his show "Parts Unknown".
I was a little worried about the thought of a documentary, even more so when I found that artificial intelligence (AI) had been used to reproduce the mans voice. Could a computer ever have the warmth, wit and sly sarcasm that Bourdain could impart when needed to emphasise something in his usual voice overs?
As it was, I needn't have worried.
Produced and directed by Academy award winner Morgan Neville, this is an absorbing look at the life of a very personal and introverted chef, who was thrust into the limelight after writing the bestselling book "Kitchen Confidential".
Tracing his career from before the book, and with interviews with those who knew him best, this is a documentary that pulls no punches and is at times even capable of drawing tears from even this grizzled old critic.
The AI model of Bourdain's voice was employed so that the film could emulate him reciting words that he had written, but for which no recordings of him speaking exist, such as an email he had written to friend David Choe. Neville said there were two other such uses of the technology in the film, but refused to specify what they were, stating, "If you watch the film [...] you probably don't know what the other lines are that were spoken by the A. I., and you're not going to know. We can have a documentary-ethics panel about it later." I'm given to understand Bourdain's estate and literary agent were happy with the use of the AI, so the ethical debate can be put to bed for this particular work. As for its use in other works, that will be looked at on a case by case basis, but in my view, Neville made a superb job here.
I have to say, I have no idea which other two sections were spoken by the AI, it's that good at replicating his voice.
This is a really intimate work. Bourdain was more than the travel writer he became, and indeed, towards the end of his life had begun to suffer with agoraphobia to a degree, and this is handled with real sensitivity, as are his relationships with his first wife, Nancy Putkoski and his second wife, and mother of his daughter, Ariane, Ottavia Busia.
Bourdains well documented early battle with substance abuse is here. He was always open and honest about his battles, both with drugs and depression.
This is a film that doesn't feel like its invading his privacy, or that of his family and friends, but is more like one of his shows. It has that Bourdain "touch" that all his shows had. Credit for that goes to Neville.
Bourdain's loss is still a very raw and open wound to his family, but that they participated in this work is of immense credit to them, for it's drawing on the memories of those who knew him best while these memories are still fresh is what makes this such an interesting piece. His friendship with Josh Homme for instance is one where they bonded over having daughters, and its plain to see just how much Homme misses his friend and talks about the things they were going to do together and now won't be able to.
Never one to shy away from controversy while alive, this film treads a fine line between reverence and tact when discussing not only his life, but his attitude to the human condition as a whole. Neville is not scared to include the actor Asia Argento with whom Bourdain had a relationship with and who publicly told the world she had been raped by Harvey Weinstein, and looking at how her advocacy of the #MeToo movement and the allegation of sexual assault by her on actor Jimmy Bennett affected him personally.
It was refreshing to watch a documentary that didn't feel afraid to show it's subject in an unkind light at times, as Bourdain wasn't a saint.
Neville has made a compelling and watching documentary that should garner one or two awards nods, if not wins.
4*/5.
I was a little worried about the thought of a documentary, even more so when I found that artificial intelligence (AI) had been used to reproduce the mans voice. Could a computer ever have the warmth, wit and sly sarcasm that Bourdain could impart when needed to emphasise something in his usual voice overs?
As it was, I needn't have worried.
Produced and directed by Academy award winner Morgan Neville, this is an absorbing look at the life of a very personal and introverted chef, who was thrust into the limelight after writing the bestselling book "Kitchen Confidential".
Tracing his career from before the book, and with interviews with those who knew him best, this is a documentary that pulls no punches and is at times even capable of drawing tears from even this grizzled old critic.
The AI model of Bourdain's voice was employed so that the film could emulate him reciting words that he had written, but for which no recordings of him speaking exist, such as an email he had written to friend David Choe. Neville said there were two other such uses of the technology in the film, but refused to specify what they were, stating, "If you watch the film [...] you probably don't know what the other lines are that were spoken by the A. I., and you're not going to know. We can have a documentary-ethics panel about it later." I'm given to understand Bourdain's estate and literary agent were happy with the use of the AI, so the ethical debate can be put to bed for this particular work. As for its use in other works, that will be looked at on a case by case basis, but in my view, Neville made a superb job here.
I have to say, I have no idea which other two sections were spoken by the AI, it's that good at replicating his voice.
This is a really intimate work. Bourdain was more than the travel writer he became, and indeed, towards the end of his life had begun to suffer with agoraphobia to a degree, and this is handled with real sensitivity, as are his relationships with his first wife, Nancy Putkoski and his second wife, and mother of his daughter, Ariane, Ottavia Busia.
Bourdains well documented early battle with substance abuse is here. He was always open and honest about his battles, both with drugs and depression.
This is a film that doesn't feel like its invading his privacy, or that of his family and friends, but is more like one of his shows. It has that Bourdain "touch" that all his shows had. Credit for that goes to Neville.
Bourdain's loss is still a very raw and open wound to his family, but that they participated in this work is of immense credit to them, for it's drawing on the memories of those who knew him best while these memories are still fresh is what makes this such an interesting piece. His friendship with Josh Homme for instance is one where they bonded over having daughters, and its plain to see just how much Homme misses his friend and talks about the things they were going to do together and now won't be able to.
Never one to shy away from controversy while alive, this film treads a fine line between reverence and tact when discussing not only his life, but his attitude to the human condition as a whole. Neville is not scared to include the actor Asia Argento with whom Bourdain had a relationship with and who publicly told the world she had been raped by Harvey Weinstein, and looking at how her advocacy of the #MeToo movement and the allegation of sexual assault by her on actor Jimmy Bennett affected him personally.
It was refreshing to watch a documentary that didn't feel afraid to show it's subject in an unkind light at times, as Bourdain wasn't a saint.
Neville has made a compelling and watching documentary that should garner one or two awards nods, if not wins.
4*/5.