Watch The Devil is the Details, the Short Film Randy Blythe Shot While on Trial in Prague
Can I just take a moment to emphasize again that if I were ever on trial for manslaughter — in a foreign country, no less — I’d probably spend a lot of time doing things like shitting my pants, crying for my mommy, and shitting my pants? I continue to be amazed that Randy Blythe seems to have remained clear-headed and productive throughout his arrest and subsequent trial: not only did he start a book in prison, but he shot a short film, The Devil is the Details, during his trial. In fact, he now says that channeling his emotions into his art is part of what kept him so clear-headed… which makes perfect sense, just sayin’, y’know, for some of us, shitty pants and weeping would be on the docket.
In any case, The Devil is the Details is now streaming on Blythe’s blog, where it is accompanied by the below statement:
“This is a movie I made in Prague during my trial. I filmed the footage with a Canon EOS 60D, edited it with Final Cut Pro X, and wrote the music using Reason. I wanted to release a slightly different version of the film right before my judgement was rendered by the court (the very last shot in this version was not there until after I was pronounced innocent). My idea was to show my mind set through film and music during the process of my trial, and have a more ambiguous ending heading into my final day in court. I did not know what was going to happen to me, only that I felt I was doing the right thing by being there. Working in a creative capacity during the trial helped me to remain calm- it is what I know how to do, so I wanted to share it with people. I showed the clip to my lawyer and he advised against releasing it until after the trial was over, thinking the authorities might not understand what I was trying to say with the movie. It is all over now, so here is my poor attempt to try and create art in a time of great personal uncertainty.
“Note- the Devil plays an important part in Czech fairy tales, and marionettes are a bit of Czech folk culture I came to love while I was there- the marionette hangs in my study now. The Devil is different in Czech fairy tales though, to my understanding- the puppet is representative of me, the way I viewed myself, the way I was viewed by society at different times- all sorts of things. It is not representative of evil- just wanted to clarify that.”
It’s easy to see why Blythe’s defense attorney thought people might not understand what he was trying to say with the movie — it’s non-narrative, experimental, and impressionistic and completely open to interpretation, even with the benefit of knowing Blythe’s intent.
Watch The Devil is the Details here, then discuss in the comments section below.
At the risk of being gauche, I’d just like to add, as a sidenote, that while I understand this was shot without permits, surely, surely, there was some footage that didn’t feature a kid looking right into the camera and smiling. Maybe the kid’s presence is actually the reason Blythe chose this portion of the shot — maybe the kid, in some way, represents Daniel Nosek — but it comes across as distractingly out-of-place in an otherwise somber piece.
[via The PRP]
