Some people argue that Kurt was murdered at the behest of Courtney Love, his own wife. They say that they were almost at the point of divorcing, which would leave Courtney with less than half of his assets, but if Kurt died, the story would be different... She would get all his money, the money from the sale of any Nirvana material would all go to her (and with his death, sales would increase even more), and she would gain more attention and popularity to promote her band, Hole.
But ultimately, what must have been the true story behind Kurt Cobain's death?
For those who expected this answer to be revealed in the documentary "Kurt and Courtney," this film is somewhat disappointing. The documentary doesn't clarify anything; on the contrary, it only adds fuel to the fire. Directed by English filmmaker Nick Broomfield, who became acquainted with Nirvana through his teenage son, "Kurt and Courtney" is a film that, with many doses of British humor and several provocative questions, tells us about Kurt's tumultuous life. And it's a parade of insinuations against Courtney.
Many negative points against her are addressed. She tried in every possible way to hinder - not to mention sabotage - the film. First of all, she prohibited Nirvana songs from being used as the soundtrack. She also prohibited the film's debut screening at the Sundance Film Festival. The film immediately began to attract the attention of the American media, which debated Broomfield's right to freedom of expression. He, very wisely, took advantage of the situation and labeled his documentary (on posters and advertisements in newspapers and magazines) as "The Film Courtney Doesn't Want You to See".
Several people are interviewed throughout the film. One of them is Tom Grant, the detective Courtney hired to find Kurt shortly after his disappearance from a rehab clinic in Los Angeles. He maintains that Kurt was indeed murdered - by her! "Courtney hired me simply to convince everyone that she was doing everything to find him," he declares, also stating that she married Kurt out of interest, and that he became tired of the marriage and was considering divorce. Furthermore, according to Grant, "the amount of heroin found in Kurt's blood after his death was much higher than a fatal dose, which leads us to the conclusion that he would never have been able to hold the gun and shoot it at his own face." But the documentary itself clarifies that this dose was not so fatal, showing an experiment where a guinea pig had injected twice the amount of heroin found in Kurt's blood, and he could stand on one leg. Moreover, the effect takes between one minute and one and a half minutes, which would give him enough time to grab the gun.
Edition #3
Rio de Janeiro, 2000
Electronic music
with oriental influences
Open-minded city
A place where millions of animals live and die as if they were in a concentration camp
Accept our God
or suffer the consequences!
A request?
No, a right.
Documentary puts in check:
Did Kurt Cobain kill himself or was he murdered?
Colors and electronic music
“DKANDLE weaves swirling multi-colored vibrant unearthly soundscapes, blending fuzzy and reverberating Shoegaze textures, mesmerizing Dream Pop meditations, sludgy Grungey tones and moody Post-punk strains, heightened with soul-stirring lyricism and pensive emotive vocalizations”
Film Portrays the Depressive World of Kurt Cobain and the Controversial Character of Courtney Love
On April 8, 1994, Kurt Cobain was found dead in his home in Seattle. With a shotgun next to his body and a farewell letter, it was more than certain that he had committed suicide. However, some people began to suspect that Cobain might have been murdered. After all, with all the money he had, someone could have had an interest in his death. Several theories about a conspiracy against him then emerged. But ultimately, who could have killed Kurt Cobain?
According to Grant, Courtney was aware of Kurt's depressive reputation, and if she forced a story that he had committed suicide, everyone would believe it. She would have hired someone to kill him and stage a suicide. He also claims that there were no fingerprints on the gun used in the crime. However, other sources mention that only the fingerprints could allow the identification of the body. He also says that Kurt's farewell letter was actually a goodbye to Nirvana, to his fans, and to the marriage, not to life; he was just putting an end to those things he hated so much. Tom also states that the last sentences of the letter were written by someone else, as these are the only words that really give the impression of suicide. But that also does not prove that someone else wrote it. He probably wrote that last part afterward, and when that happens, the handwriting never looks the same, it always changes the pattern. Do the test yourself, write something and continue writing the same text a few hours later, and you will notice that the handwriting is different... This lawyer presented no unbeatable proof. Furthermore, if it weren't for this theory, would you have ever heard of Tom Grant?... Neither would I.
But what is really intriguing about all this is the fact that Hank Harrison, Courtney's own father, is against her. Author of the books "Kurt Cobain - Beyond Nirvana" and "Who Killed Kurt Cobain?" Hank doesn't hesitate to say that his daughter has an ultra-violent temper and that Kurt was unhappy by her side. Broomfield even comments that it's so strange to hear a father speak ill of his own daughter.
Another controversial interviewee is El Duce, former lead singer of a porno-punk band from Los Angeles, who claims to have been offered $50,000 by Courtney to kill Kurt, but he laughed at the offer because he thought it was a joke. "'Blow his brains out!', she said." Note that he was drunk when he made this statement. Another suspicious thing is that he, a supposed hitman, talks about it calmly in front of a camera. In the real world, no one who works killing people will talk openly about their job, this is just unreal... It's evident that he was lying. A few days after the interview, El Duce was mysteriously run over by a train. Some people argue that he was actually murdered for "talking too much"... (He even mentions in the documentary that he knows who killed Kurt). But maybe he reconsidered the horrible lie he told the documentary to self-promote and, remorseful, threw himself in front of the train.
It's obvious that Broomfield doesn't like Courtney much... At one point in the film, he shows photos of her when she was younger, posing as a junkie and troubled, and then shows scenes of her at an Oscars ceremony party, with impeccable hair and an expensive dress, totally high society. "Kurt would never be in this environment!" declared Mary, Kurt's aunt. Broomfield also shows an interview where Courtney was rude to an interviewer asking questions she didn't want to answer about her heroin use, and he showed it in the documentary just to try to discredit her and portray her as an arrogant woman (distorting the context because she had already warned the interviewer not to approach the subject, and that's why she got irritated, but it's her right, the interviewer broke a deal).
Despite all the insinuations, the film doesn't really prove anything; they decided to go after Courtney. The fact is that Kurt liked her, he himself declared that several times. And why didn't they show images of her reading his farewell letter, crying a lot? I don't believe she was pretending... The film is biased; the director wasn't interested in interviewing people who could defend Courtney. It seems that some interviewees just wanted to appear in the film, maybe the director himself just wanted to appear too, and there may be false testimonies just for the sake of creating controversy.
But, at least, the documentary doesn't fail to show us the other side of the story: Kurt was indeed a depressive person, and there is a high chance that he did commit suicide. Kurt's aunt, Mary, herself believes in the suicide version. She reveals that she once read an old Kurt's song called 'Seaside Suicide', where she had the clear impression that he had already tried to kill himself before. There are also testimonies from friends and an ex-girlfriend of Kurt declaring that he was kind of down, and there are snippets of homemade videos accidentally focusing on Kurt, where he appears with a melancholic aspect.
What impresses most in the film is witnessing the depressive world in which Cobain was born and raised. His home and his childhood and adolescence town (Aberdeen, WA) were (and still are) a real downer - poor neighborhood and houses (by American standards), with a large polluted river, poorly maintained and always deserted streets, and mostly gray, cold, and rainy weather throughout the year. He had problems with heavy drugs since adolescence, had relationship problems at school and at home (his parents divorced when he was still a child, which created one of his biggest traumas, and also went through several periods without having a fixed place to live). He hated being famous and called a leader, and his heroin addiction would cost $300 a day (it was the maximum he could withdraw from ATMs daily). You really get to understand the roots of the depressive melodies Cobain wrote. He was a talented musician, simple but very ambitious, who couldn't deal with the pressure of fame and fell into the trap of showbiz, aggravated by the torment of heroin addiction.
In the end, "Kurt and Courtney" doesn't add anything, but it's still an interesting documentary to watch, even for those who aren't Nirvana fans. There are some funny situations. And just hearing recordings of Kurt when he was 2 years old, shown in the film by his aunt Mary, is worth it. In one of these recordings, Kurt starts singing, imitating the sound of a heavy guitar. Mary laughs at her nephew and concludes with the phrase that is now in everyone's minds: "It's early Nirvana!"
So, do you think Kurt killed himself or was murdered? Comment below
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