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Review: ‘Spark’ a tourism ad for Burning Man

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For anyone voyeuristically curious about the annual desert bacchanalia Burning Man but not enough to join the exhibitionist, live-for-art multitudes in person, the documentary “Spark: A Burning Man Story” offers plenty of skillfully designed Black Rock City footage of the nude, nutty and neon-colored set to lulling, ambient music.

Unfortunately, a tourism ad for the increasingly populous festival is mostly how “Spark” plays, even with the access directors Steve Brown and Jessie Deeter got to capture the internalized hand-wringing over last year’s lottery ticket fiasco, which alienated longtime attendees.

There are also lip-service critiques, mostly from estranged co-founder John Law, of how management of the event has progressed (or not). But like one of the event’s built-to-blaze art projects, such leadership concerns disappear in a poof of smoke once the show hits the dust (literally), the eager artists we’ve been following get their elaborate works set up, and the revelry starts. Cue the musical montages.

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Why harsh the buzz with something analytical? For such a hippie-ish wingding originally designed to discourage the buying and selling of anything, “Spark” has decidedly bought into its subject and has no qualms hawking it to moviegoers.

“Spark: A Burning Man Story.” No MPAA rating. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes. Playing at the Laemmle Noho 7.


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