Jarboe

Live concert film from Swans' Greed/Holy Money 1986 tour.

From their roots as a brutal, confrontational industrial band, through breakups and chaos, to their odds-defying current status as one of the most accomplished and ambitious bands in the world, one whose concerts are more like ecstatic rituals than nostalgic trips. SWANS has always been a collection of singular performers, but there's been one constant since its formation in 1982--singer, songwriter Michael Gira. 'Where Does a Body End?' is a SWANS documentary with unfettered access to hundreds of hours of Gira/SWANS archives of never-seen-before recordings, videos, and photographs. An unfiltered story of a life in the arts, frequent difficulty spanning decades without a safety net, creating work because Gira says "What else am I going to do?"

A forgotten faceless celebrity ascends into heaven along the path of self-discovery and through a land of faded memory.

The Smiling Man descends into hell, and, trapped in the walls of his own homosexual longing, he must now confront his motherly obsession.

Compulsively embracing his brooding homosexuality, the Smiling Man walks the final circle.