Tong Taps Beat of DJ Culture

Yuri Wuensch with The Edmonton Sun discusses Michael Dowse's latest film, It's All Gone Pete Tong:

At its start, It's All Gone Pete Tong also seems consumed with its excesses, following the exploits of the fictional Frankie Wilde, the world's most popular DJ, played with feverish and hilarious panache by British actor Paul Kaye.

Wilde is the king of Ibiza, the Spanish resort island which attracts thousands of revellers to its many clubs every summer. In the film, most are there to see the binge-boozing and coke-snorting party animal that is Wilde. The trouble in paradise comes when Wilde starts going deaf - It's All Gone Pete Tong, named for the famed BBC Radio One host, is Brit slang for when things go wrong.

Ironically, Dowse's previous film is Fubar, a mockumentary giving an inside look at the lives of two Alberta headbangers intent on perfecting their mullets, shotgunning beers and "just givin' 'er." Fubar's heavy metal seems miles apart from Ibiza's beats, but Dowse's admitted ignorance of dance music is part of what makes his take on it so successful. His eye as the outsider sees things sometimes drug-addled dance fans might not, or simply may not want to admit to.

Like Fubar, Tong is a redemptive tale. Although Wilde starts the film off as a jerk, albeit a fairly likable one, confronting his deafness ultimately makes him recognize what's truly valuable in life. It's a poignant journey with a lot of heart and plenty of laughs.

It's All Gone Pete Tong is also a beautiful-looking film thanks to the striking cinematography of Balazs Bolygo, who captures the Mediterranean sun and eye-popping club sequences - probably the best ever filmed - with equal aplomb. Offbeat musical selections that aren't solely electronic-based also lend Tong more texture in what's probably the most definitive (perhaps unintentionally so) film about DJ culture released to date.

Full article at this link.