Can’t Stand Losing You: A Memoir of The Police

This post was written by DOC NYC blogger Iva Radivojevic

The Police guitarist Andy Summers at the DOC NYC screening of CAN’T STAND LOSING YOU.

Friday night marked a nostalgic look back at The Police through the World Premiere of directors Andy Grieve and Lauren Lazin’s film CAN’T STAND LOSING YOU, a musical journey into the life of Andy Summers and his time as the guitarist of the band. The film, based on Summer’s memoir, starts off  as an intimate diary entry, focusing on things such as coffee brewing and the plucking of guitar strings.

As a quirky and unlikely rocker, Summers is a strange and unusual protagonist. Perhaps because of this, he takes us on a ride that gives viewers insight into the band and locks them into a specific moment in music history.

The film wastes no time diving into its story, and viewers soon find themselves in 1983 at a Police concert, signing along to classic lines from The Police: “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t stand losing…”

The story follows the somewhat typical story arc of a band: struggle, rise to fame, band tension saga. But it’s fast, it’s exciting, it’s a trip. The party never ends.

Over the years, Summers developed an obsession with taking photographs, and this archive is mined to create a stunning collection of photo-documentation of the band and his experiences as a member of it.

One of the film’s highlights is in Asia, where Summers is causally walking the streets and taking photos, when he suddenly hears the song “I’ll Be Watching You” coming from a Karaoke bar. He walks in to join in with the revelry–without revealing his identity. The moment creates a delightful feeling of suspense. And when Summers reveals his identity both those in the karaoke bar and the viewers are ecstatic.

When the lights in the theater went up, Summers was welcomed by enthusiastic applause. During the audience Q&A the guitarist appeared as humorous and youthful as he is in the film. As Summers said in answer to a question about pressure of the moment, “You either rise to it or you crumble.” Looking back, we can see that he didn’t crumble.

Iva Radivojevic is a documentary filmmaker. Follow what she’s up to at www.ivaasks.com.