Haack (2004)
Directed by Philip Anagnos

Bruce Haack has been adopted in certain cool-kid circles as the creator of wacked-out children's music, performed on electronic instruments Haack built himself, and released on no budget in extremely DIY fashion in the 70s. Haack tells the tale of the man's mostly sad life, using some old footage from Haack's early career (including one truly surreal appearance on "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood") along with lots of Haackmusic, LP covers, and the expected interview segments.

Unfortunately, the details of Bruce Haack's life can be (and are) easily told in about twenty minutes, so most of this film is padded with blathering commentary from inarticulate cool-kid musicians who claim to find inspiration in Haack's music, though it's clear that they mostly just find it "cool." Granted, it's hard not to find Haack's way-out music to be way-out, but I don't need to hear a bunch of would-be electronic music stars (Anubian Nights? DJ Me DJ You?) mumbling their thoughts about Haack and/or the crazy sounds he made.

Some clips of Haack's musical collaborator Esther Nelson are fun (she's as kooky as you would imagine if you've heard any of the Haack/Nelson records), and the first-person accounts of Haack's waning years (a haze of darkness, drugs, and booze) are enlightening. But the film spends way too much time trying to delineate some kind of lasting "influence" Haack had on music, and the truth is, he really didn't influence jack shit. Rather, he was sui generis and will always be that. Imitators or fans have nothing to add, and this low-budget tribute, while certainly an act of love, doesn't have much to add either.

Review by Gamal Pina