Jeff Buckley: the film "It's Never Over" is coming – Watch the trailer

Il racconto della vita artistica di Jeff Buckley torna al centro dell’attenzione con “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley”, il documentario che Amy Berg – già autrice di titoli come “Deliver Us From Evil” e “Janis: Little Girl Blue” – dedica a uno dei musicisti più influenti degli the Nineties. Una stagione musicale che continua a proiettare la sua ombra sul presente e che in Buckley ha avuto una delle figure più luminose e fragili. Qui di seguito è disponibile il trailer ufficiale.

The son of Tim Buckley, one of the greatest singer-songwriters of all time, and of cellist Mary Guilbert, Jeff made his mark in 1994 with an album that defied the labels of its era. In the midst of the grunge storm, he released “Grace”: a record that had little to do with that scene, even as it shared some of its melancholic, restless spirit. The only studio album released in his lifetime, “Grace” remains a landmark for its ability to blend classic rock, jazz touches, blues, indie and a melodic sensibility worthy of a crooner. Above all, it's the record in which Buckley bares an extraordinary voice, capable of a delicacy and power that won over listeners and illustrious colleagues alike: among them, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, David Bowie and Bob Dylan.

Buckley's story, however, came to an abrupt end on the evening of May 29, 1997, when, having just turned thirty, he drowned in the Wolf River, a tributary of the Mississippi. He had just begun working on “Sketches For My Sweetheart The Drunk,” which would be released posthumously and unfinished, along with other live and archival material that could never match the completeness of “Grace.”

More than twenty-five years after his tragic death – which occurred in May 1997, when he was only 30 – Jeff Buckley's figure continues to captivate audiences and spark interest among filmmakers and musicians. Over the years, several attempts have been made to tell his story on the big screen, many of which fell through. One of the episodes recalled in the documentary concerns his mother Mary Guibert's opposition to the idea of Brad Pitt playing her son in a biopic.

With "It's Never Over", Berg delivers the first authorized film about the American artist, built from archival footage, unreleased recordings and recent interviews with family, friends and colleagues, including Aimee Mann and Ben Harper. "I've spent pretty much my entire career trying to make this film," the director has said, "it offers a very intimate look at one of the greatest singers and songwriters of all time."

The trailer – roughly two minutes long – alternates lighter moments with deeper reflections. Among the most striking clips is a passage in which Jeff Buckley, with irony, lists his main influences: “Love, rage, depression and the Zeppelin.” But the film doesn't shy away from more delicate subjects, such as his virtually nonexistent relationship with his father, the extraordinary singer-songwriter Tim Buckley, who died in 1975 when Jeff was eight. Asked what he had inherited from him, Jeff replies flatly: “People who remember my father. Next question.” The trailer closes with words that seem to capture Buckley's restless, passionate spirit: “I've been wrong, I've been completely unpleasant, I've been beautiful, I've been totally in love, I've been horrible… but I've never been dead.” A line that today sounds like a living echo, confirming that his voice still resonates.

Following its world premiere at Sundance and its screening at Rome's Festa del Cinema, “It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley” will arrive in the United States on December 4 on HBO. An Italian distribution deal, likely on Sky, is expected to follow shortly.

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