Kris Kristofferson: Breakthrough
He's a man's man, that Kris Kristofferson, a guy who walks it like he talks it, with a combination of rugged good looks and a songwriter's sensitive soul--all of which is on display inBreakthrough, an hourlong concert documentary that addresses (via music and interviews) his evolution from Vietnam volunteer to disillusioned patriot whose straightforward, unaffected songs reflect a preoccupation with basic notions like freedom and justice. Performing with his band, the Borderlords, Kristofferson is apparently the feature attraction at some kind of activist benefit (although such specifics as when, where, and what for aren't provided); thus the repertoire includes not only "Me and Bobby McGee" and "Sunday Morning Coming Down" but also more explicitly political fare like "They Killed Him," "Burden of Freedom," and "Third World War" (the tumultuous events in Nicaragua and El Salvador in the '80s are of particular concern to the singer-songwriter, who adopted three Salvadoran kids). Kristofferson's songs are quite conventionally-structured, and he is not a great singer; what's more, some of the images in the film footage included here (Gandhi, Martin Luther King, the Kennedys, Tiananmen Square) are a bit on the obvious side. But that's just the point. Kristofferson is effective not because he's clever or facile, but merely because he is committed and honest.--Sam Graham