Review of Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet (2012) by Alex R — 03 Jan 2013

An incredibly inspiring and moving documentary about musician Jason Becker, an exceptionally gifted guitarist finally realising his dream winning the rock royalty gig with David Lee Roth in the 80s only to be struck down by Lou Gehrig's disease, cruelly robbing him of the use of his limbs, and eventually the rest of his motor functions.

It's truly amazing what a human can achieve with enough willpower, a focused state of mind and loving support around them, as Jason Becker, as the title suggest, is proudly "not dead yet" over 20 years later and still a creative and very talented musician, using computer programs and a human producer to help get the music in his heart and soul out into the world.

Equally inspiring are the people around him, from his father inventing a completely new eye sign language to communicate with his son, to his mother and care workers day to day support, a couple being ex-partners who still show huge commitments to his care.

As a film, I did feel it was structured a little lop sided - there's a huge focus on Becker's childhood and early successes, with lots of archival video and interviews with many big guitar names, who all rave over his talent and genuine personality.

I guess this works to set-up the huge impact the disease had, but the film feels a little less focused when documenting his current life, in particular I'd have loved to have seen more insight into his current music-making processes and some performances of pieces he has written after his cruel confinement.

Small structural gripes aside, this was definitely one of the most moving documentaries, and just human stories in general, I've seen and a genuine wake-up call to the fragility of life.