MYSTIFY: MICHAEL HUTCHENCE
On the other spectrum of music films releasing this week, Mystify: Michael Hutchence (dir. Richard Lowenstein, rated M) proves to be an illuminating profile of a mysterious and tragically lost soul. As someone who knew next to nothing about the INXS frontman, I can’t speak for what the film will feel like to megafans of the Australian crooner. However, as a film, Mystify is mostly successful, employing a beguilingly off-beat approach to its depiction of the man’s life through pieced together archival footage and an array of interviewed voices — including ex-girlfriend Kylie Minogue and Hutchence himself — compiled mosaic-like over the imagery. I was fascinated by how much of Hutchence’s musical career remained in the background — while his songwriting process, touring life and musicianship were undoubtedly present in Mystify, the film is far more concerned with his interior life, his familial and relationship