Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007) Synopsis:
As the front man of the Clash from 1977 onwards, Joe Strummer changed people’s lives forever. A musical icon and political activist, Strummer was never shy about saying what was on his mind and meaning it. He was a voice of a generation, which still resonates today.
The biopic contains never seen before footage of Joe Strummer including studio sessions, archive and early childhood footage, interviews with Strummer disciples such as Martin Scorsese, Bono, members of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, friends new and old. Also containing candid interview with Mick Jones, Topper Headon and other members of Joe’s musical career.
Drawing on both a shared punk history and the close personal friendship that developed over the last years of Joe’s life, Julien Temple’s film is a celebration of Joe – before, during and after the Clash.
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007) Movie Review:
With a wealth of footage, this biographical documentary about Clash frontman Joe Strummer is utterly fascinating. As with his other docs (The Filth and the Fury, Glastonbury), Temple assembles the material skilfully, although he doesn't make it easy for the uninformed.
After a childhood living all over the world, Strummer returned to the UK and joined a series of bands that eventually evolved into the Clash in 1976. Over the next 10 years their politically aware music redefined rock and punk as they indulged in typical rockstar turbulence. The film uses home movies, unheard audio tapes, backstage footage, concert clips and moody modern interviews, accompanied by narration from Strummer himself, taken from his late-90s BBC radio series. He died from a congenital heart defect in 2002.
Temple compiles this beautifully, layering outside influences from the Rolling Stones to the Sex Pistols, as well as inventively animated glimpses of Strummer's own doodles and sketches. This is witty, pointed filmmaking that really gets under the surface, so it's a little annoying that Temple refuses to identify anyone who's talking.
For example, just seeing Bono is potent because, with their meaningful music and social activism, U2 are now what the Clash were then. So everything Bono says deepens our understanding of Strummer's impact on both the music industry and pop culture. On the other hand, if we can't recognise Strummer's now-aged fellow musicians, whatever they say may be lost on us. Also, by cleverly weaving in clips from various movies, Temple is able to lovingly illustrate Strummer's life journey. But we're rarely sure if we're watching actual archive footage or a vintage film clip. And gaps in the narrative are impossible to fill in unless we know the story beforehand.
That said, the artful swirl of material coalesces in two powerful ways: as a grippingly impressionistic look at Strummer's life and as a comment on the politics of pop. The band's voyage into arrogance and superstardom is sobering, as is Strummer's prescient description of the meaning behind Rock the Casbah ("There's no tenderness or humanity in fanaticism"). As a result, the final section, in which Strummer rediscovers himself around utopian campfires, really catches his personality and a tone of creative reconciliation. Gorgeous.
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Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007) review written by: Rich Cline
7th September, 2008 
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