Traceroute
Traceroute
PG-13 | 28 April 2016 (USA)
Traceroute Trailers

Artist and life-long nerd Johannes Grenzfurthner is taking us on a personal road trip from the West Coast to the East Coast of the USA, to introduce us to places and people that shaped and inspired his art and politics. Traceroute wants to chase and question the ghosts of nerddom's past, present and future. An exhilarating tour de farce into the guts of trauma, obsession and cognitive capitalism. Features interviews with Matt Winston, Sandy Stone, Bruce Sterling, Jason Scott, Christina Agapakis, Trevor Paglen, Ryan Finnigan, Kit Stubbs, V. Vale, Sean Bonner, Allison Cameron, Josh Ellingson, Maggie Mayhem, Paolo Pedercini, Steve Tolin, Dan Wilcox, Jon Lebkowsky, Jan "Varka" Mulders, Adam Flynn, Abie Hadjitarkhani, Kelly Poots...

Reviews
Una Bomber

The viewer is guided on a journey through different stories and experiences of nerd culture and these all accumulate to define how places and people have shaped and inspired filmmaker Johannes Grenzfurthner's art and politics.Traceroute's quirky and ironic humour is effective throughout and this is showcased from the beginning when Grenzfurthner introduces the first stop on the road trip, San Francisco, as a place of endless opportunity, as well as homelessness. Within the various interviews that take place, there is a real sense that this is a collaborative exploration of creativity: of the old and the new, the past and the present, and the traditional and the digital. The use of photography and drawings interspersed between the interviews with various people associated with nerd culture shows an artistic approach to the material and these images act as reflective snapshots of moments in time, reinforcing the importance of looking back to the past as well as looking forward to the future of the digital age.

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pronomen-28329

I'm a musician, and there is one thing I absolutely HATE: careless, sloppy, unsystematic soundtracks, especially in documentary films. I know that it's hard to discover good music, but: COME ON! If it's true, Traceroute had a *total* budget of $15,000. There are no excuses anymore!A great soundtrack is more than just a collection of great songs. A great soundtrack pulls a story along while somehow effortlessly blending into the background. The right one can help define a movie; a terrible one can ruin an otherwise decent film.Traceroute relies heavily on its amazing soundtrack to convey the mood of childhood and rebellion, nostalgia and counter-culture, traveling and arriving. There's a retro-electronic vibe present in most of the tracks, but also classical music, and all-time favorites like Vera Lynn's 'We'll Meet Again.'I'm glad the track list is here on IMDb. I need it for my own road trips!

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lauramonch

As someone who was a supernerd and then kind of just accidentally stopped being one (all before the age of 15), I've kind of felt disconnected to the 'hard core' nerd- side of life. I don't get 50% of the references my nerd/geek friends make, I haven't watched the majority of mandatory nerd films and I wish I could persuade myself to take up online gaming, but I just can't be arsed (pardon my French). HOWEVERThis was a super fun documentary, very candid and not overly stylized. Of course: you need to have a certain interest in the subject and it helps if you know the things they're referencing to. But I've found that it's also extremely funny because of the very sharp sense of humour and the diversity of the people the visit. Nicely done!

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Peter Brubaker

Traceroute is a really well, put together documentary film. It is shot nicely with good sound and edited in a sublime manner to captivate the audience and keep us interested throughout the two hour run time. Not once did I ever get bored, I joined Johannes and his companions on a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and I totally enjoyed my time with them.If you do so happen to be lucky enough to be given the chance to watch this documentary, embrace the geek in yourself and make sure you do. I did and I REALLY loved it.Traceroute – a fantastic documentary, though I will never look at cheese the same way again. Bleugh.

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