Spirits in the Forest

source: Spirits in the Forest

I thought this was wonderful. I think those who were disappointed here didnt bother to watch the trailer or synopsis. I loved the fan stories. The band scenes were amazing, so much energy for the last gig of a 14 month tour. The only thing that was missing was the superfans meeting the band.

I am a Depeche Mode fan since my childhood. This documentary takes you there, in stadium, in the 6 fans life. It makes me goosebumps every minute i watch

Excellent movie. DM are piece of art. Their concerts are real masterpieces. The only "negative " thing is that the movie is too short.

A film aimed at and for Depeche fans of course but it hits the mark perfectly. The stories of the people travelling to attend the last concert of the Global Spirit tour in Berlin are varied, interesting, moving, and inspiring. Their personal backgrounds and individual connections to the bands music is interspersed with footage of that gig, and it makes for an absolute treat for a fan of 35 years like myself. Superbly shot by long time collaborator Anton Corbijn, the film ended in the cinema where I saw it with several "awws", as it finished too soon.

I really loved this movie/documentary it gave me a different perspective on how Depeche Mode impacted the world.

As a die hard fan up until Ultra I didn't expect much from their live performance but was pleasantly surprised and am very impressed with how much this band still gives. I found the fans' stories very moving and drove the story to feel more like a movie than just a concert film, beautifully shot by Anton Corbin. My friend who was more a casual fan before watching this absolutely loved it and is now an official Devotee

Spirit in the forest is everything Anton Corbijn promised and more from taking us into the lives of the 5 fans and their journeys through life and Depeche Mode. Every Depeche Mode fan around the world can relate to some part of the story in someway. Visually the movie is typical Anton with every shot thought about through photographic eyes. The band continue to prove what a force Depeche Mode are late into there fifties, filling stadiums across the globe. Dave has developed into a master story teller on the stage with Martin and the rest of the guys providing the spine to what is Depeche Mode. This is a film for Depeche Mode fans a true reflection of all us and our love for Depeche Mode

November 21, 2019 may remain in history for several reasons. One of them is the fact that on this day, the premiere of the documentary 'Spirits in the Forest' took place simultaneously in many cities around the world, The event that inspired the film is the concert of the group Depeche Mode that took place in Berlin in 2017 as part of their Global Spirit Tour. The information provided by the event organizers indicates that these screenings are intended to be unique events with the public, so I can consider myself lucky because our local cinematheque was one of the locations where the documentary was screened. If indeed the public screenings will be limited, even for a while, this movie has a chance to become, at least for the Depeche Mode's enthusiastic fans audience, another item in the series of cult objects that support the band's fame, beyond its musical merits. The film makers chose a structure different from that of other musical documentaries. They did not present the concert from start to end, and did not include behind the scenes information or expert comments about the musicians and their music. Instead they chose to focus on the lives of six fans of the band from six different places in the world - Mongolia, Colombia, United States, Romania, France and Germany - all coming to Berlin to see their idols. They went into their biographies and listened to testimonies about how Depeche Mode's music influenced their lives. One of the women had been suffering from cancer and the group's music accompanied her long and painful hours of treatment. The man in Colombia was separated from the two teenage children and part of their connection was to create music videos in which they played the band's music. The young woman from Mongolia had learned English using the texts of the group's songs. Of course it is only a sample, but it can also be a key to understanding why tens of thousands of spectators, sometimes coming from all over the world, gather in halls or stadiums to experience such events. There is a risk that the fans of music documentaries and filmed concerts will be disappointed. For example, I'm not a fan of Depeche Mode, and I didn't find out much about the band in this movie. It seemed strange to me to subtitle the dialogues although all the interviewees spoke clear and impeccable English, but not the texts of the songs. The music of course eventually captivates and is well filmed, but it was not the focus. 'Spirits in the Forest' is a movie less about Depeche Mode and more about some of the fans of the group.

I was a bit skeptical about the fan stories at the beginning, but I had to realize it made the movie much more special than just a concert film . All the stories were unique and different from each other , some of them were really emotional, the others were inspiring. The concert itself was obviously brilliant, Dave made an outstanding performance as always and so are the others. I really loved the entire build up of the movie, showing a bit of the fans, then showing a bit of the concert back and forth during the entire movie. It's a must see to every Depeche Mode fan, wherever you're a hardcore fan or someone who just go into their music, because this movie will make you appreciate their music much better.