Cast:
Featuring performers Final Conflict, Litmus Green, Naked Aggression, and The Resistance, with interviews of Keith Morris, Rick Wilder (The Mau-Mau's), Flea, among others.
Directed by Penelope Spheeris (#238 - The Little Rascals, #806 - Wayne's World, #1019 - Dudes, #1657 - The Decline of Western Civilization, #1821 - The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years)
Review:
"I feel that a documentarian has an obligation to tell the truth as he or she interprets it. And what I mean by that is that documentarians don't necessarily have the same sort of obligations that a journalist might have. A journalist might be called upon to be objective, whereas a documentarian is sort of forced to take sides."
Penelope Spheeris has stated that the three Decline films are what she would like to define her career. However, the road to the third film came in a distinct manner different from the last two films. Spheeris has stated that the three Decline films are what she would like to define her career. However, the road to the third film came in a distinct manner different from the last two films. The release of Wayne's World (1992) was both a hit for Spheeris and a future regret. Studios that had perceived her as not being able to do comedy now shifted to believing she wasn't there for serious material, and a rift with a star on that film meant she was not on for the sequel (as such, she has stated she would "probably not have done" that film if she had a second shot). A trip to Burning Man made her come to a revelation to come back and do a third film in the Decline series. Her aim at trying to look at the punk scene in commercialization in the years that followed would soon turn into one about the gutterpunks that were living on the streets of Los Angeles. A reminder that it is the efforts of Anna Fox (the daughter of Spheeris) who helped spur efforts to get Spheeris to get around to re-releasing these films, which is certainly better to see in a boxset rather than bootlegs. It inspired Spheeris, who acquired a license to become a foster parent in 2013. In fact, she met her future boyfriend during the production of the film (one who was homeless for years that is affected with schizophrenia). Spheeris (who had her most recent documentary with We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n Roll (2001) suffer delays for years because of rights issues, incidentally) has been on the record about apparently working on a fourth film involving music, but whether it will reach completion is unknown. Everything has basically come full circle in the weirdest of ways. Each film has an opening with the bands being recorded about being at this show means one is consenting to being photographed and each one involves a handful of bands being shown on and off the stage in their perspectives. Keith Morris of Black Flag returns from his appearance in the first film, with his enduring line being about how he never wanted to be a rock star. One of the first questions asked in the film is about punks who saw the first film. So yes, the punk scene has moved into a different place from before, where you now see punks living on the streets making due with what they have and the people that they choose to associate with, whether that involves people named "Filth" or with people who claim they can suck an Icee through their nose. There are a handful of people shown in interviews, whether in a booth or live on the street, with such names including "Filth, Spinner, Why-Me, Spoon, Darius, Little Tommy, Troll, and Nate". The one defining characteristic that comes through is the conviction that these people have for who they are in the moment.
There are other perspectives besides the gutterpunks, because there is still some music shown through the film, and one probably isn't surprised to hear from a cop as well. Honestly, the music is mainly just fine, with the perspectives of the groups probably being more distinct to look into (one of the groups in The Resistance basically practices in an abandoned building), but the film in general is more one of casual decay more than anything. People are reduced to asking folks on the street or taking photos for money ("not begging, asking" being the key here). It has gotten to a point where these punks are the outcasts of society that believe the best way forward is to be who they are in that moment, which mainly involves being away from their family and the use of substances. I think nearly every punk asked in the film admits to a regular habit of drinking alcohol (because if punk is any one thing, it is what you are not). Forget what they look like (like the one with a pen tube) and instead listen to them for who they are beyond appearances, whether that involves them talking about the upbringing they had before they became who they are (namely abuse, which is recounted by every single one of them) or their short-term plans for the future because of how much they believe they will die soon anyway. The shock isn't the fact that there is homeless people who wander the streets every day trying to make a living, the shock is instead the fact that this is even that big of a problem to begin with (one that goes beyond punk music of course, but Spheeris clearly cares about what she is filming by the way she asks her questions on screen).
The film (which runs for 86 minutes) closes on numerous shots: first a scene a group of the punks walking together on the street (while a title card states that profits of the film will go to charities for the homeless and abused children) before it cuts to shots from the music scene (as one could see from certain moments of the previous two films) and a final blurb detailing the death of "Squid" (who died on July 19, 1997) from stab wounds alongside the arrest and eventual trial of "Spoon" (an account of the two in terms of a separate person shooting photographs and the apparent fate of Spoon can be found in this blog here). The film never got a proper chance to be seen by the public for years. It did make a premiere on the festival circuit (starting with the 1998 Sundance Film Festival), but the demand for a film with its tone were middling, and any offer that came had a stipulation that she refused to take: handing over the rights to the first two films. At any rate, it is hard to believe it has been 25 years since the release of this film, which manages to continue the road set out by the two previous Decline films in showing the nature of what it means to be a person in punk in the realm of oneself and in music. Each film has their own great highlights in terms of perspective and music (for which I say the first is the best in that regard), but you cannot go wrong with any of the films that were done by Spheeris and company. Check them out for yourself to see just why Spheeris holds them dear to her heart and why you may find them really worthwhile in the history of documentaries.
Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.
Next Time: Smithereens (1982).
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