Gogol Bordello is a fascinating band. A blend of Slavic folk music and punk rock, Gogol Bordello has been an avant-garde musical experience on the periphery of popular music for decades. The band leader, Eugene Hütz, is a Soviet era refugee to America. In Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story, we learn the entire life story of the esteemed Mr. Hütz from his childhood in Soviet Ukraine to his family immigrating to Burlington, Vermont, and beyond. Starting with listening to bootleg punk albums to the Gorbachev-approved performance of Sonic Youth in Kyiv in the late 80s, Hütz has been inspired to compose bohemian punk melanges.
Scream of My Blood mixes historical footage from the Soviet era with a long interview with Hütz and splices in footage of Gogol Bordello performances over the course of time. It also features several of the bandmates, specifically the violinist Sergey Ryabtsev, percussionist Elizabeth Sun, and longtime studio producer Steve Albini. Steve Albini is famous for recording albums for Nirvana and other grunge acts. For the uninitiated, Gogol Bordello’s music features violins, various percussive instruments such as gongs, cymbals, and a marching bass drum. There is also added to this heady concoction electric and acoustic guitar, bass and piano. As Hütz frames it, Gogol Bordello is a chaotic Eastern European orchestra.
Eugene Hütz sings alongside a Ukrainian soldier during a performance for troops in Scream of My Blood.
“…we learn the entire life story of the esteemed Mr. Hütz from his childhood in Soviet Ukraine to his family immigrating to Burlington, Vermont and beyond.”
Filmed in 2023, Scream of My Blood centralizes its narrative through its focus on the war in Ukraine between Modern-day Russia and its former vassal. Hütz, being a staunch and ardent supporter of his homeland, performs for the Ukrainian Army, akin to an Eastern European USO. It is very nice to watch a man show true patriotic love for the country that birthed and raised him for the first 16 years of his life. Sure, life in the Eastern Bloc countries was rough. However, as we learn from Hütz, there was great art and beauty which mitigated the suck. Also, one can always resort to remembering with fondness the one time Sonic Youth performed in Kyiv.
There is much to commend the directors of Scream of my Blood for. Nate Pommer and Eric Weinrib have created a portrait of an artist that is as wildly multi-cultural and multi-lingual as the artist himself. Part direct cinema experience, part newsreel footage, the interstitial editing between scenes and cheeky frame-of-reference title cards add to the erratic and gonzo vibe of the rockumentary. Truly, dear reader, if you have the chance to catch a performance of Gogol Bordello, you should absolutely go. If for no other reason than the sheer bombastic insanity that will unfold all around you. As demonstrated on Scream of My Blood, every concert is fully interactive between the audience and the musicians. You are an active participant in the wildness, and expected to join in on the rumpus.
Scream of My Blood is a most heady and bonkers film. I loved every frame of it, dear reader. This is at once so very poignant, and yet not. I encourage everyone to go out and see Scream of My Blood: A Gogol Bordello Story. This is one that will live long in your burnt-out retinas.
"…one that will live long in your burnt out retinas..."
