Movie Review: Beautiful Machine

A+

When I first heard about this documentary and watched the trailer, I knew it was going to be either fantastic or awful. I had high expectations of what the film should be, so if Beautiful Machine didn’t live up to them I would be giving it less than a one out of five and cursing the New Zealand music industry. However, and lucky for New Zealand, Beautiful Machine is the best thing to hit cinemas since the non-3D version of Titanic.

Beautiful Machine tells the story of how Shihad, New Zealand’s long standing rock band, formed and began their journey to music success. It shows childhood memories of the four band members and how music inspired their success. The four band members, their families and the music industry professionals they have interacted with throughout their journey all give insight into the band through interviews and tales, intertwined with concert footage with from the past 24 years. 

What makes the film brilliant is the brutal honesty. There was no skirting around the edges, no glossing over the bad parts to make Shihad look better. And for this, I respect the band so much more. They do not parade on about their rise to fame and the millions of records they sell. Rather, they told the stories of their battles with alcoholism, their struggles to stay apart from their friends and families and girlfriends when they made the decision to move to Melbourne and how depression nearly tore them apart.

There are three main stories which shape the documentary. The first is the formation and the beginnings of stardom; how they went from underground bars to opening for AC/DC and being the main stage at Big Day Out, until tragedy struck the band. The second part focuses on their highs during their time in Germany and Eastern Europe. The final part, and the part which hit home the hardest, was the band’s honest description of how their tour of United States miserably failed. This is where we are told how they felt about changing their name to Pacifier and how the tour almost broke the band up because the tour was not the success they had imagined.

To me, Shihad have always been that rock band who is always there. I’ve never been the biggest Shihad fan, but I’ve always liked their music and I have enjoyed seeing them live before. However, seeing Beautiful Machine has increased my respect for the band. I urge you to see this documentary and go on a journey with Shihad, because it is a brilliant cinematic masterpiece from a band New Zealand is so proud of.