HIGHLIGHTED
FILMS
TOM BERNINGER’S
MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS
The National are a band of brothers. There’s Aaron and Bryce Dessner plus Bryan and Scott Devendorf. The fifth member, lead singer, Matt Berninger is the only one without a family member in the band. Enter his metal head younger brother, Tom. An amateur filmmaker, the younger Berninger took his brother on as a subject of his latest film Mistaken For Strangers. The documentary, which came out earlier this year, charts a long leg of The National’s European tour, their largest to date. At his brother’s invitation, Tom Berninger tagged along, in true younger sibling fashion, as a filmie turned roadie. He never however sets down the camera. Constantly shooting, Tom accumulates hours of footage. There are shots of the band performing, shots of the different cities and the occasional mirror-selfie of Tom. He collects moments on tour rarely seen by the concertgoer including a band member in the shower and his sister-in-law waiting backstage. During this entire filming Tom shirks his roadie duties. In the movie, Tom is shown eagerly filming whilst other members of the crew fidget with soundboards and prep for the shows. He hurries, camera still in hand, to perform his share of the tasks, but not without stepping on a few toes as he goes. The reactions of his subjects range from comical to annoyed. The viewer benefits from this his almost intrusive style of filming. We are given the perspectives and opinions of a wide cast, building an increasingly complete picture of band, band members and brother. In a later scene, Tom unrelentingly grills his own mother on her opinion of Matt’s success verses his own. Throughout Mistaken For Strangers Tom gets in the literal faces of everyone asking questions ranging from personal drug use to thoughts on the band. He picks up on moods and moments less observant filmmaker would have missed. Perhaps it is Tom’s personal connection to his subject matter that gives him such a uniquely perceptive view. He investigates the band from every angle and yet somehow increasingly less about the band. Strangely enough the most present character during all this is the filmmaker himself. Through mirror shots, voice-overs and something that amounts to a presence, Tom appears in the film more so than the band. The subject seems to shift organically from the elder brother to the younger as the band plays city after city. Tom’s story about the band becomes more a story of himself. With a humor and style reminiscent of mockumentries like Spinal Tap, Tom carries the viewer through his unraveling career as a roadie, documenting his mistakes along side his brother’s successes. His narrative develops the introspective precision of a personal essay as we see the filmmaker trying to find his niche in the indie rock world. At first standing in the shadow of his brother and the band, Tom seems to dwarf. Standing beside his brother Tom is the less svelte of the two, but as the film reveals still an endearingly personable creator. His early attempts at horror films and childhood drawings, which feature briefly in the movie, show a well-defined aesthetic and strong voice that are brought to light by Mistaken For Strangers. He is an unexpected main character. An early shot of Tom walking across a lawn, pulling off a work glove with his stringy blonde hair falling just shy of shoulder length is a telling image. What the viewer misses in this shot, but learns throughout the film is that Tom is a creative force. When compared to the footage of Matt crumpling into his mic stand, Tom seems unassuming. There’s a family resemblance, but little else crossover. Intermittent pictures of the two as youngsters and interviews with their parents are perhaps the only proof that they are part of the same family. And yet the Berninger brothers do share more than blood. Mistaken For Strangers contains the same unabashedly honest look at the self as a National song does. Matt Berninger’s lyrics and Tom Bernigner’s films are equally devastating in how forthcoming they are. There is so much honesty and self that the viewer forgets about the tour and the band and the new album. Mistaken For Strangers wraps you up, breaks your heart, splits your sides and leaves you wondering whom the film is really about. Tom Berninger manges to make a film about The National into a harrowing tale of brotherly love and family ties without his audience even noticing. REVIEW: Zoe Marquedant
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