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Face Addict (2005)

Director: Edo Bertoglio

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From Time Out London

A ruminative DV portrait of the beat/disco/punk cliques of New York in the late ’70s and directed by Italian fashion photographer Edo Bertoglio (house snapper for Interview magazine in the early ’80s). In the film, Bertoglio reconvenes with various sparring partners, drug buddies and scene stalwarts who reminisce about the ‘the good old bad old days’.

There are some interesting moments and insightful contributions by John Lurie and Debbie Harry. There’s also a great anecdote by artist James Nares in which he recalls how Nan Goldin would drift around the New York clubs wanting to take pictures of people shooting drugs. One time, he agreed to do it, so she handed him a package of MDA and he overdosed on the spot. Regrettably, the film’s intended air of melancholy is all but annulled by Bertoglio’s wan, haughty and utterly pretentious narration about how wonderful New York was at that time.

All this despite the fact that he and many of his associates were reduced to roaming the gutters of Alphabet City, scrabbling for change to feed their junk habits. Also, too much screen time is given to rambling violinist/artist Walter Steding, who was mercilessly chewed up and spat out by the Warhol machine and left to linger through the ’80s and ’90s as a drug casualty who now lives out of a storage container.

Author: David Jenkins 2008-08-12 10:57:18

Time Out London Issue 1982, August 14-20, 2008