Mission to Lars

Mission to Lars is a 2012 British adventure biographical documentary film produced, written and directed by James Moore co-produced and co-directed by William Spicer. The film stars Kate, William and Tom Spicer as well as Jasmin St. Claire and Lars Ulrich. The premiere of the film was a small screening at Alfred's club in Mayfair in June 2011.[1] A year later, the film has a bigger premiere at the Hackney Picturehouse in London, England.[2]

Mission to Lars
Directed byJames Moore
William Spicer
Written byJames Moore
Produced byJames Moore
William Spicer
Edited by
  • Mags Arnold
  • Tom Herington
  • Ben Luria
  • James Moore
Music byMike Lindsay
Production
company
Release date
  • June 2012 (2012-06)
Running time
74 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Being diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome, Tom, the co-director's brother, have one dream - to meet his favorite Metallica drummer, Lars Ulrich.

Filming

Mission to Lars's filming locations are Exmouth, Bristol, Heathrow Airport, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.[3]

Release

Mission to Lars was released in selected theatres and on video on demand in North America on 25 September 2015.[4]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 21 critics, with an average rating of 6.7/10.[5]

Ian S. Port of The Village Voice wrote "In the particulars of a family quest film, viewers should see the universal. But in William Spicer and James Moore's documentary Mission to Lars, we instead get a whole lot of the specifics".[6]

Brad Wheeler of The Globe and Mail commented "One is left with the feeling the trip was more in service of the film's narrative than a dream-fulfilling jaunt for Tom".[7]

Stephen Dalton, a film critic for The Hollywood Reporter suggested that "[while] it [won't] teach you very much about either autism or Metallica, but [it will put a smile on your face]".[8]

Writing for The Guardian Catherine Shoard pointed out that "The peripheral interviews with the extended Spicer family are as compelling as the central quest" and added "this is a film with rare honesty and nuance in a field that frequently feels queasy".[9]

Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph praised the film for its "admirable cause" but in the end, called the film "amateurish" and added that "although Ulrich comes out of it smelling sweet".[10]

Internationally, the film was praised as well. The Evening Standard called the film "no masterpiece" but suggested seeing it "for the way it treats its subject with unpatronising sympathy",[11] while Tara Brady of The Irish Times called it "a lovely, generous chronicle of a lovely, generous gesture".[12]

Sharon O'Connell of Time Out also added her comment by calling Mission to Lars as "sweet, touching and often funny doc".[13]

According to Neil Genzlinger of The New York Times (who also picked the film for NYT Critics' Pick) "Documentaries about disabilities don't come any smarter or more touching than Mission to Lars.[14]

References
  1. Kellaway, Kate (2 June 2012). "One fan's mission to Lars". The Guardian/The Observer. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. "'Mission To Lars' on Tour". Blabbermouth.net. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. "Metallica Drummer Talks 'Mission To Lars' In Mexico City Post-Screening Q&A Session". Blabbermouth.net. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  4. "'Mission to Lars' Documentary Feat. Metallica's Lars Ulrich to be Made Available in North America". Blabbermouth.net. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  5. "Mission to Lars (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  6. Port, Ian S. (22 September 2015). "'Mission to Lars' Follows a Boy's Journey to Meet Metallica". The Village Voice. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  7. Wheeler, Brad (2 October 2015). "Mission to Lars: A family road trip to reconnect with heavily autistic brother". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  8. Dalton, Stephen (22 June 2012). "Mission to Lars: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  9. Shoard, Catherine (7 June 2012). "Mission to Lars – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  10. Collin, Robbie (8 June 2012). "Films in brief: The Innkeepers, The Pact, Sing Your Song". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  11. "Mission to Lars - review". Evening Standard. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  12. "Mission to Lars". The Irish Times. 10 August 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  13. O'Connell, Sharon (8 June 2012). "Mission to Lars". Time Out.
  14. Genzlinger, Neil (25 September 2015). "Mission to Lars' Follows Siblings' Quest to Fulfill Their Disabled Brother's Dream". The New York Times. p. C8.
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