Documentary

Arthur Russell spent a life lost in obscurity, his music "out of its time,” as former Modern Lover Ernie Brooks says in the fresh-to-DVD documentary Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell (Plexifilm). And Brooks was right. Despite recent appreciation for Russell’s eclectic avant-pop, the New York composer saw little time in limelight before his untimely death to AIDS in 1992. But it wasn’t for lack of trying, with Russell desperately scratching at the door of mass appeal yet never breaking through. Director Matt Wolf now recreates this sad tale in his touchingly personal Wild Combination. Through interviews, archival footage and beautifully crafted cinematography, Wolf’s debut becomes a moving cinematic portrait and one that should find a spot in the hearts of fans and newcomers alike.