Film Review – Pacing the Cage: A Portrait of Bruce Cockburn

Pacing the Cage (2013) was produced by BB&J Productions and directed by Joel Goldberg.

Some people describe him as honest, visionary and disciplined, while others might call him restless, immature and even arrogant. Most everyone would say he is a brilliant guitarist, poet, singer, activist and showman ­– Canada’s answer to Bob Dylan. He is, of course, Bruce Cockburn. And though hard to pin down or categorize, there is no doubt that he has been a provocative and shining part of this country’s music scene for over four decades.

Pacing the Cage, a new documentary profiling Cockburn, does not make it easy to get a handle on him, perhaps deliberately. In the film, he keeps moving, changing, stopping, starting. Alternating between performances by Cockburn, comments from musicians and writers such as Michael Ondaatje, Bono, Sylvia Tyson, Sarah Harmer and Jackson Browne, and interviews with the artist himself, we see glimpses of him through conflicting perspectives, almost like Citizen Kane. Is he a genius or an overrated performer? Is he a trouble-maker or a major prophet for our time?  The film seems to ask, “Which one is the real Cockburn?”

The various segments of the film take a stab at describing him through segments such as “On the Road”, “Guitar Player”, “The Activist”, “The Writer”. But as the title suggests, Cockburn does not find it easy to be caged.

He does his thing, his way, on his own terms. And he does it intensely. Cockburn explains how he ‘discovered’ that he was a Christian and then started expressing it, not so much to convince anyone but to release something that could not be contained. It is as if something deep inside him takes over, whether it is a social issue or a very intimate personal insight, and pours out in word and song. The world disappears in the process.

Up on the Hillside:
Up on the hillside you can see the cross shine,
Out in the alley hear the hungry dog whine,
You and I, friend, sit waiting for a sign,
See how the sunset makes the lake look like wine.

The film is partly a quest. Grabbing hold of themes that we cannot ignore – strident materialism, environmental disasters, political corruption, love – he struggles to express the terrible wrong:

If a Tree Falls:
Rain forest; mist and mystery; teeming green,
Green brain facing lobotomy,
Climate control centre for the world,
Ancient cord of coexistence,
Hacked by parasitic greedhead scam.

Is he a pessimist? A lot of his songs are bluer than blue at first glance. He’s walking the via negativa. But then he’ll light up with via positiva, creative, hopeful, even buoyant.

Wondering Where the Lions Are:
Sun’s up, uh huh, looks okay.
The world survives into another day,
And I’m thinking about eternity.
Some kind of ecstasy got a hold on me.

A lot of the film is performance, and it’s impossible not to be captivated by his virtuoso guitar playing. Mostly, the film is a tribute. In the end, Cockburn comes across as a brilliant musician, not without flaws and blemishes, but now mellowed and sweet from lessons learned along the way. In fact, he seems like an everyday guy, with a new young wife and child, a working musician with a wry twinkle in his eye, not afraid to laugh at himself, full of affection for life. And watching this film, you’re bound to feel affection for the man himself, in spite of – or maybe because of – all his quirks and contradictions.

All the Diamonds:
All the diamonds in this world
That mean anything to me
Are conjured up by wind and sunlight
Sparkling on the sea.

I ran aground in a harbour town,
Lost the taste for being free.
Thank God He sent some gull-chased ship
To carry me to sea.

Two thousand years and half a world away,
Dying trees still grow greener when you pray.

Silver scales flash bright and fade
In reeds along the shore,
Like a pearl in sea of liquid jade,

His ship comes shining,
Like a crystal swan in a sky of suns,
His ship comes shining.

Trailer for “Pacing the Cage: A Portrait of Bruce Cockburn”: