Playing as part of the Doc’n Roll Film Festival, A Way To Die collects together the early 8mm and 16mm films made by the hugely influential queer majick duo Coil. The small sections of film have been painstakingly edited together by filmmakers Maxime Lachaud and Xavier Laradji creating a psychedelic descent into the minds of the two artists.
Coil is one of those bands. The type of band whose fanbase are VERY passionate and who are unafraid to debate online about every facet of the band. A Way To Die is sure to help continue this trend because away from its artistic merits, there is a definite debate to be had around the issue of screening the more personal and private aspects of the film.
It is important to mention that this is not a Coil documentary. Whilst it starts with a brief biography of Balance and Christopherson (who shall be known by his infamous nickname Sleazy from here on in) narrated by later-period Coil member, and owner of Sleazy’s archive, Thighpaulsandra, A Way To Die quickly switches gear into a more kaleidoscopic tapestry of film which in many ways tells us more about the early days of the band more than any other more traditional documentary could.
The film starts with a feel of English whimsy as we find ourselves on the grounds of a school of high standing (imagine the set of If….) and the camera is happy to focus on the smiles and bodies of the boys that frequent the school. Sleazy’s music that accompanies this is folksy and ethereal adding a sense of innocence and eternal summer. This was swiftly destroyed by the cut to Hackney in 1977. Black and white. Smashed windows and derelict buildings tell you that we are in the heart of the summer of discontent. This is a period when Sleazy was in the infamous band Throbbing Gristle and the film features moments from the much talked about (in certain circles) room The Nursery. We see artist Monte Cazazza sitting in a chair, all VU leather and snarl, before he strips and attaches clasps to various areas of his body. Tonally, this is where the film really starts to showcase its themes. It will come as no surprise to fans of the band that the film is littered with homoerotic imagery, violence and ritual yet its strength lies in its inclusion of lighter moments which not only highlight the duo’s unique sense of humour but also their connection to each other. It is there in the close up of Balance and Sleazy’s eyes when they are looking at the camera, and the man behind it.
It’s interesting to see the footage from when Balance and Sleazy were part of Psychic TV and more raw footage of their most notorious moments such as filming the ‘Love’s Secret Domain’ video in a Bangkok “boys bar” and the fake snuff movie Sleazy made for a Nine Inch Nails promo but the film is at its best when Lachaud and Laradji help highlight the contrasting sides of the band. This is best showcased via two sections. The first is the long edit of Coil’s version of Tainted Love. For me, this remains the definitive version of the song and the video only helps highlight this fact. Made during the AIDS pandemic, and used to raise funds for the Terence Higgins Trust, ‘Tainted Love’ is transformed from a Northern Soul song about a toxic relationship into a heart wrenching cry for what the queer community were losing and the fact that the most normal thing of physical interaction can now be a death sentence. Sleazy’s video featuring a young man dying alone in hospital (the only visitor being death himself, played by Marc Almond) is exceptionally moving and remains as impactful now as it did when it was made.
The flipside to this is a sequence soundtracked by Coil’s notorious song ‘Teenage Lightning’. In this sequence we see a very young man, sitting on a chair in his underwear, attached to various wires which are connected to a battery. The man flips the switch himself repeatedly, shocking him in the process before he collapses on the floor. Whilst the sequence is, obviously, staged it is somewhat unsettling. This is no doubt down to the marrying of the specific song and the apparent youthfulness of the actor but there is no denying that this was one of the most impactful moments of the entire film.
A Way To Die finishes in the early 1990s and with rave culture in full swing which for some may help them feel it ends on an optimistic note but for for those who know the band and their lifestyle well it is a sad ending as Sleazy was very open about the fact he believed that Balance’s MDMA usage and the need to help soften the blow of a comedown is what led him to become an alcoholic and that is what would eventually kill him.
A Way To Die is an amazing technological and editing feat as a lot of the film used was, according to Thighpaulsandra, in a very poor condition. There is no doubt this is a brilliant film and fans will love it, however there are definitely some questions surrounding its release. The legacy and who-can-release-what of Coil’s archive is often hotly debated with reissues of their albums being more and more frequent. The rights and wrongs of this are not for me to discuss in the context of a film review but what is apparent from watching A Way To Die is the complete absence of Coil members such as Stephen Thrower and Ossain Brown. Thrower in particular is missed as the film covers his period in the band and whose contributions were vital to what made Coil so iconic and revolutionary. On the other hand, Thighpaulsandra did not enter the Coil world until much later and whilst his legitimacy to the rights of the Coil period he was involved in are hard to dispute, the releasing of a lot of this material, of which he played no original part, could understandably upset family members/friends/bandmates of Balance and Sleazy who were there at the time.
Whether you choose to engage with this film or not will be based on where you stand morally on this question but when it comes to the film itself there is no denying that the filmmakers have a deep love of their subject and they have gone to great lengths to make a film that represents the true heart and creative energy of one of the UK’s finest ever bands.
Just remember, eat your greens, especially broccoli.
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Review by Simon Tucker
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