Controversial Documentary About Anthony Bourdain Premieres in the US

Not even death could keep him from the spotlight. The documentary “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” premieres today (16) in all cinemas in the United States and brings to the big screen a little about the life of the chef who became a celebrity.

The film features archival footage and interviews with Bourdain's closest friends and colleagues. Morgan Neville – the film's documentary filmmaker – analyzes how the boss became an international icon and what led him to commit suicide at the height of his career in June 2018, days before his 62nd birthday.

In a telephone interview with The New York TimesMorgan spoke about his new project: “The fact is that your life has always been full of darkness. What I felt I needed to do was figure out how to reconcile those two sides of Tony. Because I think when he died, the overwhelming thought I heard from people was, 'How the hell did someone like Anthony Bourdain kill himself?' Because he had an incredible life.”starts.

_{Official trailer for “Roadrunner”, the controversial documentary that tells a little about the life of Anthony Bourdain (Reproduction/YouTube)}

“The same ingredients were always there. In many ways, his strengths were his weaknesses as well. His deep romanticism, his wanderlust, his deep curiosity and quest were his strengths, but they were also things that really kept him uprooted and unable to sit back and enjoy things.” concludes.

The central story begins in 1999 and follows his brilliant and successful career when he publishes his first bestseller, “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly”. The walk through the years tells how he gained confidence during the filming of the series “A Cook's Tour”, “No Reservations and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.”

During filming, friends and colleagues question what could have caused Bourdain to take his own life. The film delves into the boss's troubled past with drugs and how he handled his relationships.

In three moments of the film, artificial intelligence is used to recreate Anthony's voice. Critics and journalists criticized the use of technology, however, the director claims that the boss's widow, Ottavia Bourdain agreed with a fact that she denied.

Interviewed by “GQ”the director said: “I checked with, you know, his widow and his literary executor, just to make sure that people were okay with it. And they said, 'Tony would be okay with it. I wasn't putting words in his mouth. I was just trying to bring them to life.'”. Ottavia responded to the statement on her Twitter: “I certainly was NOT the person to say Tony would be okay with this”.

The film has barely been released and is already causing a stir on and off the big screen. All that remains is to wait for it to be shown here in Brazil for the pundits on duty to form their opinions.