Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus

This is the most riveting documentary I've seen in many years. Delivered with a delicate touch and intimate footage of a woman whose work was scantly shared in her prime and whose extraordinary spirit had never truly been presented to the world. She never even had a record deal???? It's not only that Q struggled to navigate a music industry that was too square, too racist or too dysfunctional to channel her power, but she managed to remove herself so completely that she had no sense of the impact she had on artists, lovely souls and the culture at large. Her work lived on via a network of underground sharing, piracy and profiteering unbeknownst to her. And it was only a chance encounter in a cab that connected two kindred spirits, causing Q to revisit her past and reactivate the impulse that had driven her to perform since she was a child. Aridijis' love for Q and her passion for Q's artistry come through via intimate conversations and extraordinary archival footage. (Has anyone ever seen this??) The filmmaking is masterfully subtle, but the humanity is immersive, ferocious.

Making a documentary about a woman so mysterious is no easy feat. Diane Luckey, better known as Q Lazzarus, disappeared from the public eye for over 25 years. She gained fans all over the world that she didn't know about. Fans she would never meet. Fans who would not know her presence at all. Conveying anyone's personality can be tricky, but I feel like Eva did it wonderfully. In this documentary, you can pick up on Diane's humor. You can pick up on her passion. You can pick up on her strength. Hell, you can even pick up on her parenting style at one point in the movie! The way this was edited is phenomenal, and once again, editing this was no easy task. Eva has said that (and I'm just paraphrasing here) she felt like she had 2 completely different films. One about a rock star and one about a woman's struggle (especially with substance abuse). That being said, I think Eva was able to make this one coherent story. I applaud Eva for all the hard work and dedication she needed take on the difficult task of speaking for a woman who can no longer speak for herself. We miss you, Q.

So what did I think of this film I was so excited to see? I adored it. I still have questions about Q, that may or may never be answered, but I think that's okay! I have never cried so hard at a movie like I did with this documentary. The world can feel so incredibly cruel sometimes.

Diane, you deserved better. I hope you're feeling all this love and success that's coming from this documentary. I hope more people are able to hear, learn from, and maybe even resonate with your story.

This film is outstanding, mainly because the subject, Q Lazzararus (Diane Luckey) is magnificent. She is a force of nature. There seems to be a serious disconnect in the music industry which doesn't recognize a superior talent like this, and it extends to the indie film industry as well. Those programmers at Sundance and Slamdance and SXSW are all falling over themselves trying to secure the rights to secure the productions of rock royalty and are ignoring the work of a significant underground artist like Q. She is miles above any of the winners at the Grammy Awards this past year, and needs to be awarded a Grammy immediately. Her work is completely misunderstood, since she is a black woman fronting a heavy metal band, and the music industry has no precedent for how to market such a phenomenon.

As far as the documentary is concerned, it is the unbelievable result of the filmmaker, who is a fan of Q herself, getting into a cab driven by none other than Q herself. How is this possible? It sounds like something that would be considered absolutely implausible if it was a script, yet it was real life. If this is not evidence of the abstract phenomenon known as FATE, then please explain how something so amazing could happen.

The documentary is one of the best I have ever seen, and this is written by a documentary teacher, who studies them and presents them to students in major arts colleges, so there is reason to believe that the filmmaker deserves some recognition here. How is it possible that this is not getting worldwide recognition? Oh yeah, because the subject is a black woman who is fronting a heavy metal band. I guess that says it all. Do yourself a favor and see this. Absolutely riveting.

I went to see this film with my husband and we were both devastated but also utterly entranced. We feel nothing but admiration and awe for this incredible feat of resurrection of a forgotten artist who deserves enormous recognition. Q Lazzarus was an extraordinary woman and Aridjis-Fuentes tells her story with great elegance and respect. Apart from being a compelling portrait of an artist and of a woman with a personality and presence larger than anything you could ever imagine, it is a complex and layered portrait, not always favorable, of American society. May Q's story and transcendent voice become a part of our lives, may she forever be an inspiration.

After the first five minutes of the movie I knew I was in for something good. It's a moving and frustrating story told by the woman herself and supported by the friends she made along the way. You never know where the story is going to go, because she has lived so many different lives. You cheer for her and feel her pain. The director met her at the right time. She was ready to tell her story and what a story it is. While watching the film you may, like I did, think what if she made it big in the 90s, what kind of impact would she have on the industry? A great movie, perfectly matched soundtrack. Don't miss out.