The turbulent life of soul and blues singer, the late Joe Cocker. A former gas fitter from Sheffield , catapulted to world stardom in 1969 at Woodstock with his legendary performance of the Beatles song,"A Little Help from My Friends". But in the early 1970s, Joe Cocker's inner demons nearly killed him. Overcoming his struggles with alcohol and drugs, he rebuilt his reputation as "one of the great primal rock and roll vocalists of all time" (Billy Joel's description). The film mixes Joe Cocker's own words, with rare archive. His family, friends and the legendary songwriters and musicians he collaborated with, tell Joe Cocker's story. The film has raw, electric performance footage throughout.
In an abandoned theater, French actress Marina Vlady recites from Borges' "The Immortal"... Japanese research scientist Shin Kubota sings praises to the "immortal jellyfish"... Milan Duomo workers subject the cathedral's exquisite statues to perpetual regeneration... Swiss musician/inventors Felix Rohner and Sabina Schärer persistently refine their percussion instrument, the Hang... Native American community leaders Leola One Feather and Moses Brings Plenty preserve the centuries-old spiritual resistance of their tribe...
Filmmakers Massimo D'Anolfi and Martina Parenti pay tribute to humankind's aspirations for immortality by showing us a portrait of our efforts to overcome our own limits. They share their discoveries in a visual symphony to the power and harmony of nature's elements: water, earth, air and fire. From Milan to Wounded Knee, USA, from Bern to Shirahama, Japan, the traces of the filmmakers' travels spiral into a symbol of perfection and infinity: Spira Mirabilis.
