Reviewer: Daina (daina @ terror . lt)

"Art in the Face of Industrial Decay" - a decent logline for a decent two hour-long documentary film "City/Ruins", directed by Stephen Petrus, written by Aaron Vilk.
Two hour long - that would be perhaps the only negative aspect of the film, which is otherwise rather captivating. I must be suffering some kind of attention disorder I guess not to be able to concentrate for more than an hour. But for those like me there is always THE option of chapters, which in this DVD basically means the possibility to skip all the intelectual content and stick to the live acts by a bunch of genius musicians.
As a documentary, it is a wonderful study of noise and industrial scene in Ohio, Cleveland. It features lots of great acts (Aaron Dilloway, Arsonist's Prayer, Ghostpussy, Nyodene D, Robert Turman, Murderous Vision, Michael James, just to name a few), and introduces to the development of this subculture in post-industrial Cleveland.
The development of the musical movement as a natural response or, more likely, a reflection of the surrounding bleak industrial city-scapes, an analysis of a man - an industry worker - in a bleak grey city, a life made of dull factory routine, music as a tranformation of the machine-trash-scum-concrete aesthetics into a waveform, it's all here.
The participants of the noise - industrial scene in Ohio share ideas about the DIY culture as a main engine of all the good things, touch the discourse of the support (MC v/s CD), the liberty to create without restrictions, as well as the need to get out there and play live, which means to share and to learn.
Here we go about the visual aspect of the film. The noise of the video itself, as the support has been (I guess) a miniDV, just adds up organically to the story, being not only a medium but a participant as well. And even thought that many shaken-up pans and pots make me seasick, still I like the overall experience.
For all those cinema fanatics that are gonna stick to every detail, relax, just grab this DVD as pure documentation, as in 25 years, given that all of us are gonna be blind, deaf and fighting lung cancer by then, this is gonna be worth gold.

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Interviews and excerpts from performances:

Skin Graft
Aaron Dilloway
Arsonist's Prayer
Contamination Diet
Robert Turman
Murderous Vision
Cunting Daugthers
Nyodene D
Lisa Miralia
Michael James
XTerminal
Glacial 23
The Family Chapter
Order Of Melchizedek
Jerk
Collapsed Arc
Ghostpussy
Black Mayonnaise
Fascist Insect
Dead Peaseant Insurance
Ralf Hausman

Format: DVD
Released: 2011
Label: Live Bait Recording Foundation