As we try to focus through the strange haziness of World Of Warcraft, Virtual worlds and rather unusual internet porn it's really easy to forget that the geeks took over the world at the birth of the internet. These weird characters that we'd spent decades pushing around and generally taking the piss out of were suddenly powerful, rich and cool?! We Live In Public is as it says at the start "the story of the greatest internet pioneer you've never heard of". The person they're referring to is Josh Harris and you know what they're absolutely fucking spot on, never heard of him.

We first meet Josh in a video which he sent to his mum to say goodbye after discovering she had terminal cancer. He didn't visit her and initially I thought to myself what a cold heartless man this person must be but little was I to know the insight into this mans life that was about to unfold. I won't sit here and lie to you I have little or no interest in the early days of the internet and I really don't fucking give a shit about who created Facebook, Myspace or any of the other sites that seem to be leading people to a place where we can no longer communicate face to face, but We Live In Public is a fascinating insight into the early days of the internet and of one man and his obsession with his "projects".

His first major project was Quiet: We Live In Public in which he invited 100 artists to spend time in a purpose built hotel where they slept in pods. There were cameras everywhere and unlike Big Brother you really did see everything. People shitting, eating, showering, fucking, I mean nothing was left untouched. Each person had to wear uniform and were interrogated by a secret police and known as Citizens of the Quiet. Harris provided everything for these people. Food, drink, drugs were readily available and he even had a shooting range installed. Now I'm not master of the human mind but something tells me that placing 100 people in close proximity with guns near by is not a clever idea.

It was an interesting project and as it wore on people were beginning to lose the plot somewhat and after a bit of trouble on New Years Eve 1999 it was all shut down by the police the next day. It's through these various projects that we catch glimpses of the man Harris is and by time his next project comes along we have an intriging insight into a man who is not without his issues to say the least. It was during We Live In Public in which he set cameras up all round the house he shared with his girlfriend that we begin to see his life unravel. Harris was the pin up boy of the Dot.Com crash and he pretty much lost everything.

I found this documentary just fucking fascinating and as I have no real interest in the internet and merely see it as a tool that allows me to use profanities in public on a regular basis without offending my grandparents, I was surprised. Despite the fact that I began to watch this believing film maker Ondi Timoner was about to take us an arse licking tour into one rich bastards life I was very wrong and thought the director offered us so much more. I'm not going to go into details about how Josh is as a human being because that is what makes this a great watch. I must thank the lovely Debbie for sending me a copy to review and despite the fact I thought I would end up ripping it to pieces I actually sit here and end this with "this is a great watch and for me one of the surprises of the year".

A Fantastic Insight Into One Mans Life out of 5