Film Hick – Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007)

Directed by: Julien Temple. Rated: 15. Running Time: 124 Mins.

I\’ve wanted to see this since it came out – I remember hearing the news that Strummer had passed away and it was one of those things that knocked you sideways with both the emotional impact of it and the strange sense of surreality that hit you. There was something about Strummer dying that struck you as kind of impossible – he always seemed indestructible and forever the iconic figure bristling with energy and passion trying to wake up the whole world.

There was nothing quite like the Clash, nothing quite like the disappointment that came with the album Cut The Crap and nothing quite like the buzz of hearing Joe and The Mescaleros hitting all the right notes after all that time. No one\’s perfect and you see some of the things that he did to people, but the abiding feeling that comes from this film is how much love he inspired in those that knew him; how much love he inspired in those that knew his music.

You put The Clash on and they still sound more like the future than half the shit that\’s out there today. Listen to the Mescaleros and you can point to a man who totally confounded the general accepted wisdom on comebacks. Cool as fuck; passionate about music and life; integrity by the bucketload – a true musical hero and an inspiration.