Trailer for the documentary Driving Me Crazy.
Filmmaker Nick Broomfield is hired to direct a film accompanying the 1988 German stage production of Body and Soul, a massive revival of African American music from the thirties and forties. He’s offered a $1.6 million budget and permitted all access. Choreographers’ rehearsals, casting calls, executive sessions—nothing’s off limits. But then, with little explanation, his budget is dashed. Cast members become less accommodating than anticipated. A producer of the film wants Broomfield to explore more esoteric ideas and suggests that the “documentary” feature a non-existent producer, going so far as to volunteer to play a scripted version of himself. If it sounds confusing, that’s because it is. Broomfield trains his lens on the messy arguments and chaotic interplay, shifting the subject from the production of the play to the production of the increasingly complicated film. Promises are broken, fuses blown, and cameras pushed out of the way, but Broomfield remains unwavering until the curtains finally close.