FINDING THE PULSE OF WILCO.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

TALK ABOUT great timing. When photographer Sam Jones decided to make a movie (his first) about his favorite band, Wilco, he thought it would merely be some kind of long-form music video, an artful tribute to the music that he loved.

Little did he know that while the cameras were rolling, Wilco would famously be dropped from its record label after recording an album, ``Yankee Hotel Foxtrot,'' that Reprise Records deemed uncommercial. In that same span of time, the band fired its drummer and guitarist, found a new label and released ``Foxtrot'' to both critical and commercial success.

It's all captured in Jones' wonderful documentary, ``I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,'' which takes its name from the first cut on ``Foxtrot,'' an album that was finally released in April after sitting on the shelves for more than nine months. Jones' movie has the same fascinating, serendipitous set of circumstances that made rock 'n' roll movies like the Maysles brothers' ``Gimme Shelter'' (the Stones at Altamont) and Michael Lindsay-Hogg's ``Let It Be'' (the Beatles at their implosion) timeless classics.

The movie opens with the one-time alt-country band rehearsing new songs in a Chicago loft, dreaming of making a great, adventuresome record and proudly declaring ``Foxtrot'' to be their most collaborative effort. Soon though, you see the tension develop between frontman and main songwriter Jeff Tweedy and guitarist Jay Bennett. One extended session of nitpicking rivals the great moment in ``Let It Be'' where George Harrison wearily tells Paul McCartney, ``I'll play what you want me to play, or I won't play if you don't want. Whatever it is that will please you, I'll do it.''

When the band is later seen running through songs to prepare for a concert and Tweedy tells Bennett, ``The two-guitar thing might be obsolete,'' it's one of the most chilling statements captured in any music movie. Poor prickly Bennett never had a chance after that.

Of course, the best-known blow came during the phone call from Reprise saying that Wilco needed to make changes to ``Foxtrot'' - or else. Again, Jones and his camera fortuitously found themselves in the right place and filmed the angry response of the band's manager, Tony Margherita, as he received the news.

Even with its classic central conflict, Jones never lets his movie become a bitter diatribe against the music industry. Instead, he focuses on the songs and lets the events speak for themselves. And of course, Wilco's saga speaks volumes about the timidly cautious state of today's corporate music climate.

With all this great drama, the fact that ``I Am Trying to Break Your Heart'' contains 23 Wilco songs in various stages of development comes as a cool added bonus - fascinating for fans and a solid introduction for anyone wondering what all the critical fuss is about. It's a movie - and an album - you won't want to miss.

I AM TRYING TO BREAK YOUR HEART - Three and one half stars

(Not rated: some profanity)

Starring: Wilco.

Director: Sam Jones.

Running time: 1 hr. 32 min.

Playing: Landmark's Nuart Theater in West Los Angeles; goes into wide release Aug. 9.

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

Wilco (Leroy Bach, left, Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt and Glen Kotche) was a band on the edge for much of Sam Jones' film.