short review - WHERE THE BLUE FLOWERS GROW by Isolda Healey

First time filmmaker Isolda Healey followed the Irish Wicklow band The Cujo Family for three years, along with their trials and triumphs, their trip to New York for a series of gigs and the band's different lineups. Where the Blue Flowers Grow is an exhilarating piece of guerrilla documentary filmmaking that also feels like a purifying experience within the music documentary genre, which is often plagued by a self-gratifying type of snobbery. It's a work of authenticity that is succesful at capturing the genuine hopes, dreams, friendships and ambitions of a band with an inevitable genuine hint of nostalgia. Its imperfections add to its authenticity. In fact, it seems right to find some unwritten bond between the evolution of the band and the improvement of the technology employed.