101 (1989)

“I’m not sure about this . . . let’s go home.”

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On tour in America, promoting their then-recent Music for the Masses, the onstage and backstage performances of Depeche Mode are chronicled by the renowned documentary team of D. A. Pennebaker.

Existing fans of the English band will enjoy their 101 concert, but the live footage intercuts glimpses of other more rarely-seen realities:  publicity chores, technical operations, financial wrangling, and life in an entourage of sorts.

The band members’ lives have become more dramatic since, but this document is an opportunity to see them, some will argue, in their prime.  It’s a well-rounded affair, with a little bit of everything.  It lacks the style of a Truth or Dare, but it gains in appearing transparent.

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Rated R

117 minutes