An interesting documentary about the San-Francisco-based lesbian punk-rock band Tribe 8.
Technically, it's a bit rough-edged (it was shot on 16 mm film), but the stories of the various band members are of interest, and are at times quite moving.
There's quite a bit of performance footage (shot in San Francisco and New York, enlivened by frequent toplessness and occasional dildo-flaunting), interspersed with quite a bit of head-shot interview footage. A fair chunk of the film deals with the positive and negative ways that the band's philosophy was received by feminists at a women's conference in Michigan.
For me, it was an interesting look into a world that was previously not on my radar screen. What might at first seem like a glamorous scene proves to be a tough life filled with economic and emotional hardship.
Rise Above's modest production values are more than offset by its compelling subject mater.