Avicii: True Stories

A giant has left us, we will never know exactly why, but this documentary comes real close to answering the question.

R.I.P Tim, you will be missed but never forgotten.

In light of, or in spite of, recent events-this is hard to watch. I actually find this heartbreaking. This is an excellent film, a litle unnerving in that some of the narrative is in the past tense(purely due to the timing), but very good. 'Fan' or not, and I wasn't as such, we've all heard his music.

The film was really informative and really well put together. You see how he worked and the love for the music. The struggles of the guy are almost palpable though throughout. I have experienced addiction, etc and I can get, in a small way, how difficult things must have become. I don't know how he did it, there really is only so much a person can take. I just imagine him hating the drinking, the lifestyle, but having to carry on. Night after night after night...All the way through, I felt stressed out and anxious myself and that's, what, an hour and a half

There's definitely a story there and a sad one at that

Chances are that if you're watching this then you're a fan of Avicii, so get ready because this becomes emotional if you are. This documentary shows exactly what's the world of celebrities and DJ'S. It doesn't focus on how Avicii rose to fame (though it does shows it) but in what happened once he became the megastar he was. The tight schedules of touring and the pressure for releasing hit after hit changes everyone and in the case of Tim this was reflected in his health, both physical and mental. The hardest part of this is that it was night after night non-stop touring, barely sleeping and eating and working in making music... this lasted for eight years. In the process he faced the consequences that were obviously coming and that made him quit touring.

DJ's and music producers live a life which many wish they had. A life of private jets, money and fame. However, as Avicii: True Stories shows, that lifestyle comes at a cost, and for the man behind the biggest name in Dance music, that cost became far more damaging than any loss of money or fame.

Avicii: True Stories shows the story of Avicii from the beginning, with a superbly chronicled time-line, showing the rise of success from the early days of Tim Bergling to the worldwide chart domination of Avicii, it's all in there.

Highlighting the immense health struggles that Tim suffered over the years, it suddenly becomes so clear as to why Avicii had to stop. The machine had beaten itself, the light was no longer to outshine the darkness, the madness of it all had finally reached its peak, and it hit that peak in devastating fashion, as shown in this extraordinary up-close-and-personal telling of Tim's career as a DJ and music producer.

It's a hard-to-swallow reminder that what we hear in his music, tales of uplifting nature filled with such positivity and joy, is not at all accurate to how Avicii is as a human being, as Tim. The trailer for the documentary quoted Tim saying: "Peoples perception of who Avicii is - isn't who Tim is" and it is that separation between artist and human being which proves to be so damaging, "the picture doesn't represent the painter".

The story-line of the documentary gives a sense of depth and shows the journey in a way that isn't too long to become uninteresting or too short to not be enough, it's perfectly shot and beautifully edited. We get to see it all, from the business aspects behind Levels to the incredible production process behind some of Avicii's biggest hits, Avicii: True Stories has everything and nothing is left unexplained, it's all there.

Avicii: True Stories is an emotional roller-coaster between pure euphoria and crushing struggle, with both shown in their most raw forms. The music brought so much joy to Avicii, but the lifestyle brought so much pain to Tim, it's an important lesson that what we see isn't always a true representation. This is a very unique piece of cinema, simply put - this is compulsory viewing.

Having watched this and the I'm Tim documentary, it's clear they are coming from 2 different angles.

This is more deep, getting into the specifics of key events in Tim's career, and showing the intensity of his life during his career. It's very impactful just watching some of those pivotal scenes play out in somewhat real time, and Tim's state of mind in that process.

That being said, the documentary is quite clinical and by-the-numbers, not really straying from what you expect, and what you already know to an extent. It sometimes gets bogged down in details and flashy cinematography rather than purely focussing on the story itself.

It's odd to watch it now when it ends on a high (where Tim gave up his touring), but we all know what happened not long after that.

I prefer the I'm Tim documentary more, because it gave us more of Tim's life, and a tribute to him more as a person than just a talented musician. It also involves more personal anecdotes from people close to him.

Both documentaries are worth seeing (since they both offer footage and insights the other doesn't), but this falls short of the other for this reviewer.