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Should you watch The Devil and Daniel Johnston?

Who it’s good for, who it isn’t, and what’s in it. No ratings, no scores.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston

Documentary · 2006

This 2005 documentary film chronicles the life of Daniel Johnston, a manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist, from childhood up to the present, with an emphasis on his mental illness and how it manifested itself in demonic self-obsession.

The sides of The Devil and Daniel Johnston

  • Daniel Johnston's home tapes and drawings
  • A songwriter living with manic depression
  • Parents caring for their adult son

The Devil and Daniel Johnston is good for you if…

  • you love raw songs recorded on cassette in a basement.
  • you want a close portrait of one fragile, gifted man.
  • you like a life told through its own tapes and home movies.

The Devil and Daniel Johnston is bad for you if…

  • you can't watch mental illness take hold of someone up close.
  • you want a feel-good music story, and you get a hard and tender one.

About: mental illness · art · family

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