Crumb is a good documentary on a transgressive subject. I'm not a fan of the artist or his work but getting a good look at the family he was raised in tells you everything you need to know about why he's such a weirdo.
It's one of those documentaries where you'll look online for things afterwards and it will only really lead you to a dead end. The stuff about his brother is poignant, not the one who sits on nails but the one who thinks he's a paedophile because he was obsessed with a child actor who is actually older than him... That kind of breaks your heart in a way, but it's easy to look past if you just think "look at that sweaty paedo" and leave it at that.
It's a lot like a documentary about the Heavens Gate cult or G.G Allin in that it gives you as much as the people themselves know about the subject but which ultimately still feels like it isn't enough to fill in the void that you're left with by watching it.
The why isn't really important. It's the what that counts even if the what is very superficial.
I'm still curious about Crumb's dead brother. He was a tortured soul if ever there was one. A man too afraid of himself to ever do anything.
The whole film should have been about him to be honest.
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