Documentary on BritPop Band Pulp in ‘Pulp: A Film about Life, Death and Supermarkets’

Greg Schwartz

New Zealand director, Florian Habricht features BritPop band, Pulp, in a documentary about their farewell concert tour in 2011-2012 titled, “Pulp: A Film about Life, Death and Supermarkets.” While the documentary focuses on their quarter-century career, they also bring the viewers back to Sheffield, England, the band’s blue collar hometown.

“The only way to fully understand Pulp is to hang out in the town that birthed the band. ‘Sing along with the common people’ isn’t just a lyric, it’s a mission statement,’” says NowToronto.com.

Quirky bandleader Jarvis Cocker and his mates are featured in interviews, backstage footage and charged live performances. The band footage is interspersed with interviews of a wide range of Sheffield citizens, from die-hard fans to those who have never heard of the band. Rather than a typical band biography, the film is more of a sociological look at the band’s industrial hometown and the challenging conditions from which they emerged.

Pulp languished in relative obscurity for the first 12 years of their career before rising up to become one of the most popular British groups of the ‘90s, making Cocker a national hero and sex symbol. However, Cocker was less than thrilled with his stardom, leading he and other band members to dabble in various side projects. The band went on an extended hiatus after their 2001 release “We Love Life,” having sold over 10 million records in their career. But they reunited in 2011 for the tour documented in the film. The film premiered at this year’s SXSW Music and Film Festival in Austin, Texas and has been touring the international film festival circuit throughout the year.

Pulp: A Film about Life, Death and Supermarkets hit theaters Nov. 19.