Again Against Because

Mark Nye’s (Again) Against / Because … is a documentary reflection on the thriving, free music culture of Minneapolis – Saint Paul. A guerilla concert in a gutted retail space becomes the occasion for this lively portrait of a Minneapolis free-jazz collective. Beautifully shot and edited with gentle wit, the film gives us a guitar-and-drums duo who stretch black ski-hats over their faces to avoid giving each other visual cues, a guy coaxing otherworldly sounds out of a miked-up metal shelf, two saxophonists with their instruments duct-taped together, not to mention the lady who stopped by with a ping-pong ball and paddle. But the film’s big question is why people make music, and its funny, touching, cranky and insightful answers will surprise you. Charles Kronengold, Stanford Department of Music, (Again) Against / Because … is distributed as a region-free video, NTSC format. Film runtime is 32 minutes. The video includes an additional 39 minutes of bonus concert footage.