Eno: 'stimulating and cerebral' documentary that's never the same twice
A 'fascinating' look at the mercurial British musician and activist Brian Eno

How do you capture in a conventional documentary "the mercurial character, the elastic creativity and the prolific and endlessly inventive output of an artist such as Brian Eno"?
The answer "is that you can't", said Wendy Ide in The Observer. So rather than follow the standard rock star documentary format, and provide a "dutiful plod through talking-head interviews and archive footage", director Gary Hustwit came up with something entirely novel: a film that is different every time.
Owing to "specially developed software", each time the documentary plays in the cinema, different scenes will be shown in different orders. According to the filmmakers, there are 52 quintillion possible iterations. So I can tell you that the documentary I saw was "thoughtful and philosophical", but bear in mind that this version "will never be seen again".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Eno" is a "fascinating honeycomb of interlocking sequences", each of which tackles a "different facet" of the musician, producer, artist and activist's methods, philosophy and career, said Sam Wigley in Sight and Sound.
"Common to many of these particles are warm, unguarded interviews with Eno at his home and studio in Norfolk, where he's seen layering sounds at his computer and out admiring shrubs in his garden."
His Roxy Music co-stars, his collaborator David Bowie, "and a mixing-desk session with U2 are in the blend too".
This "pick'n'mix doc" is not, ultimately, "as radical as it purports to be, or as revealing as it could have been", said Steve Rose in The Guardian. But it is "stimulating and cerebral", and Eno comes across as appealingly funny and self-deprecating.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Citizenship: Trump order blocked again
Feature After the Supreme Court restricted nationwide injunctions, a federal judge turned to a class action suit to block Trump's order to end birthright citizenship
-
Loyalty tests: The purge at the FBI
Feature Kash Patel is conducting polygraph tests on FBI agents to weed out anyone speaking badly about him
-
The all-seeing tech giant
Feature Palantir's data-mining tools are used by spies and the military. Are they now being turned on Americans?
-
Yes, you can be outside this summer and avoid ticks. These are the tips to know.
The Week Recommends Don't get ticked off
-
Kartoffelsalat (potato salad) recipe
The Week Recommends German dish is fresh, creamy and an ideal summer meal
-
Pals and loved ones always on the move? These are the gifts to give the constant travelers in your life.
The Week Recommends The best trip is the one that lives on and on
-
6 peaceful homes near small towns
Feature Featuring doors with local topographical maps in Oregon and a 1850s homestead-turned-house in Vermont
-
The best TV shows based on movies
The Week Recommends A handful of shows avoid derivative storytelling and craft bold narrative expansions
-
Too Much: London-set romantic comedy from Lena Dunham
The Week Recommends Megan Stalter stars as a 'neurotic' New Yorker who falls in love with a Brit
-
Apocalypse in the Tropics: a 'troubling' portrait of modern Brazil
The Week Recommends Petra Costa's sobering documentary examines the rise of right-wing evangelical Christianity in Brazilian politics
-
Murderland: a 'hauntingly compulsive' book
The Week Recommends Caroline Fraser sets out a 'compelling theory' that toxins were to blame for the 1970s serial killer epidemic