By Gordon Durich
In select US theatres, March 28, lands “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence,” the much-anticipated documentary, chronicling the controversial life and songbook of cross-genre profound singer- songwriter Janis Ian. Directed by Varda Bar-Kar, this is a compelling collage of images and words, reflecting the riveting journey of the music artist from Greenwich Village to Nashville, with stops in Los Angeles along the way. The novel documentary invites audiences into the world of a true music prodigy- and her precocious entry in the rollercoaster music industry. Ian’s “At Seventeen” her break out hit worldwide, was also autobiographical – a deeply personal reflection. The young woman was forging ahead with success – however, her personal life was ill at ease. She jammed with the likes of Jimi, as in Hendrix, and her namesake, Joplin, as in Janis, in N.Y.C. Pete Seeger was another. It was unprecedented and intense.
The illuminating documentary’s impressive cavalcade of the chanteuse’s collaborators and contemporaries, spans music and Hollywood icons, including Joan Baez, fellow folk icon Arlo Guthrie and comrades such as actor Lily Tomlin. Ditto the spirited introduction afforded to a young Janis Ian by conductor Leonard Bernstein.
Varda Bar-Kar, the director of the film, dived into the project after researching Janis Ian’s music, which she listened to back in the day. The idea for making the documentary was, she explained, “mystical.”
“I wanted to make a film about a woman artist and music and wondered who that would be. Janis Ian came to mind and that was it!”
Fortunately, the musician resonated with Bar-Kar’s previous work.
She said, “Janis’ father was a choir director and she loved the film,” said Bar-Kar about her HBO documentary “Big Voice”.
Themes of identity, feminism and the transformative issue of LGBTQ activism are also addressed in “Janis Ian: Breaking Silence,” reflecting the momentous record which allowed the artist to finally disclose her sexual orientation.
Reflecting the subject’s dramatic era circa 1970s, the film was carefully rendered. It weaves in classic filmic elements from the past, capturing fragments of memories- via mood shots; super 8 mm; zooming in and out; text, footage- stock and archival- present day interviews… And of course, lots of music!