It’s easy to think that all a documentarian has to do is luck into a fascinating story and simply point a camera at that story and hit record. This is, of course, preposterous—the storytelling and filmmaking bears the brunt of the effectiveness of any documentary. That preamble is necessary when discussing a movie like 20 Feet From Stardom, which chronicles the lives of notable backup singers from music history.
The subject seems so obvious that it’s almost unbelievable that no one has thought about profiling relatively anonymous musical collaborators before. We’re offered in insight into episodes of music history that very few were privy to, and from perspectives that were previously unexplored and unrepresented in cultural discussions.
The collaborative nature of so many artistic pursuits that are widely perceived to be more individualistic works really comes out in this movie’s concern with supporting players. It should be especially relatable to the world of movies, which are often attributed to one person considered the author, the director. But this is, of course, only a fraction of the work that goes into such a massive project.
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