Extolling her punk highness, the ferocious Patti Smith. By THOMASIN SLEIGH.

THIS DOCUMENTARY is refreshingly un-documentary like. In the first couple of minutes Patti Smith recites all of the standard biographical detail of her life – where and when she was born, where she lived, who she married, how many kids she had – all of the information that is supposed to describe and explain a person’s life. After this narrative, Patti Smith: Dream of Life drifts off into a non-linear collection of moments, relationships and footage of Smith’s performances. This eclectic assemblage of events gradually reveals more about Smith’s life and music than a usual chronological portrayal often does.

I need to be upfront and say that I love Patti Smith. I love her first seminal album Horses; its rawness and energy and Smith’s intensity in a rock and roll scene almost exclusively dominated by men. So, I am going to enjoy anything that lets me see Smith backstage, performing, and gives me some insight into her psyche. I can see that this rambling film will probably appeal to those with a similar fascination in Smith or an interest in the development of punk rock in New York in the 70s.

Stylistically, Dream of Life is, as its title suggests, grainy and dream like. Steven Sebring collected this footage over the course of 11 years – a long time to film one subject. Through the course of the film we see Smith as she visits the graves of some of her favourite poets (Arthur Rimbaud, William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg), wanders around New York with her daughter Jessie, sorts through nostalgic objects, and onstage in her 1995 tour with Bob Dylan. Much of Dream of Life is shot in black and white on 16mm. This produces a layered, dirty effect, one which is particularly effective when filming Smith performing as her energy and power seem to be unmediated or edited.

The tone of this doco is contemplative. Smith lost her brother, her husband (MC5 guitarist Fred Smith) and close friend Robert Mapplethorpe (who photographed her for the iconic album cover of Horses) in a short space of time, and Dream of Life often sees her considering her own mortality and the fragility of human existence. This is tempered though by the artists own obvious love of life and passion for poetry, music and performance. Dream of Life doesn’t attempt to reconcile these oppositions or draw any heavy-handed conclusions, but instead depicts Smith as a complicated and introspective person wandering through her life and attempting to make sense of it.