From Nursery to Misery
2016 · 16m · United Kingdom
Directed by Matthew Reed
Genres: biography, documentary
Tones: contemplative, tender
Identical twin sisters Tina and Gina Fear, who performed as the experimental DIY band From Nursery to Misery in the late 1980s and early 1990s, now live together in a small house in the woods near Swansea, sharing a private artistic universe of vibrational healing and fierce creative independence.
Picked by Margot
The scouts
Everyone wants the redemption arc, the triumphant reunion—Reed refuses it, letting these two exist in their peculiar domestic stasis instead, which is somehow more unsettling and honest than any conventional narrative about cult-adjacent musicians could be.
A formally restrained portrait that knows exactly how to situate itself within the lineage of intimate documentary and experimental performance art; the decision to keep the band's aesthetic philosophy alive within the everyday domestic frame is rigorously considered and disciplined.
Reed's choice to let long stretches of silence and repetitive daily ritual carry the emotional weight—rather than constructing a talking-heads narrative—transforms what could be voyeuristic into something genuinely tender and alive.
Reviews
A fascinating (not to mention peculiar) story of two outsiders who remained determined to pursue artistic endeavors without ever seeking recognition from the wider world.