''Junun'' is a 2015

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

directed by

Paul Thomas Anderson Paul Thomas Anderson (born June 26, 1970), also known by his initials PTA, is an American filmmaker. Often described as one of the most preeminent writer-directors of his generation, List of awards and nominations received by Paul Thomas Anders ...

. It documents the making of the album ''Junun'' in Mehrangarh Fort in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

, India, by Israeli composer Shye Ben Tzur, English composer and

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

guitarist

Jonny Greenwood Jonathan Richard Guy Greenwood (born 5 November 1971) is an English musician. He is the lead guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Radiohead, and has composed numerous film scores. He has been named one of the greatest guitarists by numer ...

, Indian ensemble the Rajasthan Express, and Radiohead producer

Nigel Godrich Nigel Timothy Godrich (born 28 February 1971) is an English record producer, recording engineer and musician. He has worked with acts including Radiohead, Travis, Beck, Air, Paul McCartney, U2, R.E.M., Pavement, Roger Waters, Arcade Fire and ...

. ''Junun'' premièred at the 2015 New York Film Festival and was released on the

MUBI Mubi (; stylized as MUBI; the Auteurs before 2010) is a global streaming platform, production company and film distributor. MUBI produces and theatrically distributes films by emerging and established filmmakers, which are exclusively available ...

film streaming service on October 9, 2015 and on

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

on November 20, 2015. It received generally favorable reviews.

Production and release

''Junun'' was filmed at the Mehrangarh Fort in

, India. Much of the documentary crew's professional camera equipment was held by

customs Customs is an authority or Government agency, agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling International trade, the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out ...

, forcing them to shoot entirely with carry-on consumer-grade digital cameras and rental equipment from India. Anderson used Godrich's drone to capture aerial footage of the fort. Production was secretive and the film was announced two months before its release. ''Junun'' premiered at the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...

. It was released on

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

through the

film streaming service on October 9, 2015 and on

on November 20.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, ''Junun'' has a 100% approval rating based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9 out of 10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, it has a rating of 78 out of 100 based on six reviews. IndieWire gave ''Junun'' a grade of B+ and wrote that it ''"''offers no clear-eyed statement on its subject, but develops an enveloping internal logic about the thrill of artistic innovation." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that "Anderson’s aesthetics unobtrusively capture the magic of Greenwood and company’s global partnership. It’s a reverent tribute, and one that articulates its underlying themes in subtle, piercing snapshots." ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' described it as "a transporting film that places us right there in the room, living and breathing a singular artistic experience. Trying to remain still in your seat is futile." A.A. Dowd of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' gave the film a grade of B and wrote: "''Junun'' may be a minor work from a major director, but it provides plenty of bounce in the step and candy for the ears. It’s hard to ask much more of a music movie." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' gave the film three out of five stars, writing: "Given how fruitful and fascinating the collaboration has been between Anderson and Greenwood ... this returned favour is a little disappointing. Anderson has brought much less personality and invention to this project than Greenwood gave to nderson'smovies."

References

External links

* {{Jonny Greenwood 2015 films 2015 independent films 2015 documentary films American independent films Films shot in Rajasthan American musical documentary films Films directed by Paul Thomas Anderson 2010s American films