The Devil and Daniel Johnston

In this haunting documentary director Jeff Feuerzeig charts the life of underground musician and artist Daniel Johnston and his ongoing battle with manic depression. Feuerzeig seamlessly combines a variety of archive sources with his own material to compose a sympathetic portrait of Johnston as an influential genius without sparing us the pain and suffering his illness brings to himself and his loved ones. The film stands out from other contemporary documentaries in its sincere delivery as one grows to understand and empathise with Daniel. In documentary terms this is as entertaining as Zwigoff's 'Crumb' and has the emotional impact of Wiseman's 'Titicut Follies'. One to see for fans and non-fans alike. [Colan Mehaffey]