Nostalgia Kinky

A haunting and near-perfect portrait of the legendary Dutch rock star, painter and poet Herman Brood, Dennis Alink’s UNKNOWN BROOD (2016) is a poetic and celebratory film about a true Punk and trailblazing original. Covering Brood’s chaotic life from childhood to his suicide at the age of 54, UNKNOWN BROOD features interviews with everyone from family, friends, bandmates and famous fans all united to pay tribute to a complicated and often contradictory artist and man.

Known to most English language audiences as the Dutch Lou Reed or Johnny Thunders and the singer of the minor American and British hit “Saturday Night”, Herman Brood remains a deserved national treasure back in the Netherlands, on par with Serge Gainsbourg in France. A shy man by nature, Brood (like Lou Reed) mastered the art of playing ‘Herman Brood’ and UNKNOWN BROOD does an excellent job at portraying both the man and the romantic Rock n Roll Junkie so many came to emulate and worship.

Despite the many people Alink tracked down to discuss Brood, his film never become just another talking heads style rockumentary as it is remarkable vintage footage of Brood throughout his life that controls the narrative of the film. In fact, the archival footage is handled so expertly that it almost appears that Brood has made the documentary himself beyond the grave. Daringly unguarded personal moments are mixed in with dazzling concert footage and television appearances all working to create a documentary with real emotion and weight.

If I have one minor complaint about the film it is that, despite all the musical footage present, it never successfully presents a complete portrait of his accomplishments, which included releasing well over a dozen albums. Brood’s film career is also ignored, save for some footage from the incredible CHA-CHA (1979). Thankfully the film does delve into the inspirations for a few of his most famous songs but the creation of such classic albums such as STREET (1977), SYRINGE (1978) or the catastrophic creation of the should have been classic American made album GO NUTZ (1980) are ignored, although his self-sabotaging trip to The United States is thankfully covered.

For the most part, UNKNOWN BROOD is a smashing success and is an essential watch for fans of Brood, Rock music and Punk in general. I love Herman Brood and this period in general and I’d love to see this film get an American release so more could discover him and his work. For now, YouTube is the best bet although thankfully most of his discography can be streamed on American platforms. Herman Brood was the real deal, a true authentic in a world of Punk pretenders.

-Jeremy Richey, 2025-

***I’ve added a few stills and articles detailing the first time Herman met Sylvia Kristel back in 1979, while they were both in America. Enjoy.***