Oasis Reunion Doc Premieres at Venice, Called Too Polite — SkimNews

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- "Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger" premiered at the Venice Film Festival, directed by Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace — whose previous rock doc was the Blur film "No Distance Left to Run" — and written by "Peaky Blinders" creator Steven Knight.
- The film opens with footage of the 2009 Rock en Seine gig where Liam and Noel never reached the stage, then takes viewers into the brothers' 2025 rehearsal room for six weeks of practice ahead of the reunion tour.
- Liam and Noel Gallagher appear guarded and "PR-trained" in new on-camera interviews, with Liam described by a band member as uncharacteristically "business" in rehearsals rather than his usual raucous self.
- The two-hour documentary dedicates significant runtime to fans worldwide, including a Brazilian woman who named her dog after guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs and two South Korean divers who bonded over the song "Acquiesce."
- A Manchester Arena attack survivor describes finding solace in the title track after the 2017 Ariana Grande concert bombing, and a priest compares reunion crowds to a pilgrimage while quoting Matthew 18:21 about forgiveness.
- The reviewer calls the film's po-faced, sentimental approach an odd fit for Oasis, arguing its obvious financial motivation as a concert-tie-in undercuts its earnest moments — especially given that high ticket prices now exclude the working-class fans the film celebrates.
Why it matters: For fans seeking to relive the 2025 reunion tour, the film offers concert footage and fan testimonials, but its sanitized, sentimental treatment strips out the volatility and braggadocio that made Oasis iconic. The reviewer's core argument: the obvious commercial motivation of a reunion-doc about the famously anti-sentimental Gallaghers makes every earnest moment — including a priest's sermon and a bombing survivor's testimony — feel forced rather than moving.
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