In this blog post, we’ll examine how the film ‘The Last Days’ uses a documentary format to depict the final days of a character believed to be Kurt Cobain.

The Line Between Documentary and Fiction

What sets a documentary apart from fiction is that it is an art form shaped by the filmmaker’s perspective using real-life material, rather than a world crafted by the filmmaker’s imagination. The essence of a documentary lies in exploring the values embedded in real people, actions, places, and events, and conveying them through the language of film.
Documentary filmmakers seek to approach the truth through credible facts, not hypocritical falsehoods. This authenticity is the core of the documentary and often serves as the starting point for debate. However, no matter how faithful it is to the facts, it is difficult to completely exclude the filmmaker’s or director’s personal inclinations. This is because the very choice of what to show and what to hide already undermines objectivity.

Gus Van Sant’s Approach: A Film That Is Neither a Biopic Nor a Documentary

The film ‘Last Days’ is neither a biopic about Kurt Cobain nor a typical documentary tracing his final days. It is simply a work that offers a glimpse into the loneliness of a person isolated from the world through the final days of a character presumed to be Kurt Cobain.
This film is not a reenactment of actual events or a documentary filmed by following real people. Instead, it uses fictional actors in a documentary-style format to imaginatively depict his (the character presumed to be Kurt Cobain) final days solely through Gus Van Sant’s perspective.

Film as Observer: Peering In and Observing

The aspect of this film that most closely resembles a documentary is precisely its attitude of “peering in” or “observing.” The film observes throughout. Rather than unfolding events according to a dramatic plot, it simply watches from the sidelines—much like a documentary—as the man who appears to be Kurt Cobain spends his final days before his death.
In the opening scene, Blake wanders through the woods as if drugged, slips in a ravine, and flounders in a swamp. The audience naturally wonders whether this scene is real or staged, and why he is behaving that way. Gus Van Sant intended to show him exactly as he first appears, without explaining his background—who he is, what he does for a living, or what his past life was like.

Blake’s Image and Traces of Nirvana

Blake in the film is a character who makes you wonder, “Where did you sleep last night?” Wandering as if lost in a vast forest—or swallowed up by it—he feels lonely and lost in front of a fire that once blazed as fiercely as his fame.
His appearance and state of mind evoke the titles of Nirvana songs—“Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “In Bloom,” “Come As You Are,” and others. Once a fiery passion, he is now nothing more than a heart trapped inside a box, like “Heart-Shaped Box,” and, much like the symbolism of “Rape Me,” he is in a state bordering on resignation—isolated, with no one to talk to and no place to find comfort.

Music and Sound: Navigating the Boundaries Between Documentary and Fiction

In a typical biopic, the protagonist’s songs would likely be featured throughout the film, but the soundtrack for this work consists mostly of music other than Nirvana’s. By using songs by other bands or an original score, the film maintains a sense of distance.
However, there is one song—“Death to Birth”—which Blake sings while playing the guitar; this is a Nirvana song that evokes Kurt Cobain. When the fictional character Blake sings this song, the audience naturally thinks of Kurt, and in this way, the film straddles the line between fiction and documentary.

The Ambiguity of the Ending and the Director’s Choice

The film never explicitly reveals until the very end whether it was suicide or homicide. Gus Van Sant strives to maintain as much objectivity as possible; while portraying the character through his own perspective, he boldly avoids any aspects he does not wish to expose.
What matters in this work is not elucidating the deceased’s actions, but capturing the aura that lingered during the final stages of his life. The film features documentary elements in many aspects—including the characters’ actions, situations, settings, use of music, and a structure based on real events.