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The shadow story of the tragic life of the sad-eyed, impossibly pretty Gram Parsons is fairly well known, at least among fans of The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers and Parsons’ ill-fated solo career.

Parsons (original name: Ingram Cecil Connor III) was an enigma: a Southern born trust fund baby, Harvard drop-out and emotionally troubled musician who, though plagued by alcohol and drug abuse, (or perhaps in part because of it), produced some of the most haunting and enduring music of his era, while forging a new musical paradigm combining folk, country, rock, soul and “glam.” Though he influenced generations of musicians who followed, he never sold that many records.

When he was just 26 years old, Parsons died of an alcohol and drug overdose at a Joshua Tree National Monument motel. Citing a pact made with the young musician, his confidant and road manager Phil Kaufman stole the body from Los Angeles International Airport before it could be flown to New Orleans for burial, spirited it back to Joshua Tree Monument, doused it with lighter fluid and set it on fire. It was an unsuccessful cremation. The remains were later claimed by the family for a proper burial.

This superb documentary, produced in Germany in association with the BBC, effectively fleshes out the heartbreaking Gram Parsons saga in as much detail as possible, given how little actual performance footage exists. It begins with audio of Parsons saying “I dream of soul, country, of…what I call cosmic American music,” and then cuts to the craggy-faced Keith Richards, explaining sheepishly, “He could touch a core in people, we called it ‘high lonesome,’ and it’s a certain melancholy, it’s sort of ‘beautiful pain’.”

Sheepish, because as the movie points out, Parsons’ semi-groupie fixation with The Rolling Stones cost his career dearly, when he chose to hang out with the band instead of touring with The Byrds, and was fired. Of course Jagger/Richards gave him “Wild Horses,” before they cut it, which was a tribute to their respect for him, so perhaps the decision was a worthwhile trade-off. Jagger, it’s pointed out, always the professional, implored Parsons to stop hanging out and go back to work.

The film’s first few minutes of quick cut interview snippets with Kaufman, Parsons’ widow Gretchen Parsons Carpenter, Chris Hillman, Emmylou Harris (who Parsons “discovered” and whose dedication and professionalism at a very young age instilled a modicum of discipline in the unfocused artist at a critical time in his career), sister Diane and stepsister Becky Parsons Gottsegen, initially makes you think you’re going to be watching a shallow VH-1-style ‘behind the music’ segment, but the movie digs far deeper revealing an illuminating, emotionally nourishing core.

The film reveals the essential details needed to make sense both of Parsons’ troubled life and death and to fully appreciate and understand from where the still heart-wrenching music that fans around the world continue to treasure emanated.

We get the full family history and learn about the wealthy and powerful Snively family of Winterhaven Florida, probably the largest citrus growers in the world at the time. Gram’s dad, WWII veteran “Coon Dog” Connor married into the family and was never allowed to live down his lesser status. He was given the job of running the family’s Georgia-based produce box manufacturing facility but never overcame what today would be called “post-war traumatic syndrome,” and drank heavily.

In 1958 when Gram was ten (and after he attended a life-changing event in 1956- an Elvis Presley concert) “Coon Dog” shipped the family back to Florida and shot himself to death. A year later his mother Avis married Robert Ellis Parsons, who adopted young Gram.

This sets the stage for the charismatic young boy’s rise and fall, all of which is covered in fascinating detail with intense interviews with musicians, friends, family and business people, and some crucial hand-held 8MM footage shot by A&M “resident hippie” executive Michael Vosse.

The story winds its way through Parsons’ dropping out of Harvard, moving to New York City and founding the International Submarine Band, stealing David Crosby’s girlfriend, meeting Chris Hillman and joining The Byrds as a replacement for the departed Crosby on Sweetheart of The Rodeo.

The sad saga of the legendary but undisciplined Flying Burrito Brothers, formed by Parsons with Hillman is told for the first time in great detail, including their opening act performance at the ill-fated Altamount Rolling Stones free concert, and movie footage of the photography shoot in the desert that led to the memorable first FBB album cover with A&M art director Tom Wilkes’s and photographer Barry Feinstein’s recollections.

Parsons’ solo career and his friendship and musical collaboration with Emmylou Harris is explored in great detail as the making of Grievous Angel, the artistic high point of his life, though the drug abuse and drinking that affected Parsons throughout his career continued to take its toll.

To celebrate the release of the new album, Parsons visits Joshua Tree Monument where he dies. Four months later the album is released to critical acclaim and limited sales.

The interviews with International Submarine Band guitarist John Nuese, Chris Hillman, “Sneaky Pete” Kleinow, Bernie Leadon, Chris Ethridge, James Burton, and some of the other key musicians with whom he worked highlight the film but carefully chosen archival footage also help fill in the spirit of the times in which the narrative played. Seeing them today also reminds you of how many years have passed, and how old everyone looks, except for Gram Parsons, who remains frozen in time.

After watching this compelling and essential film, you’ll hear songs like “100 Years From Now,” “Hickory Wind” and “Hot Burrito #1” and experience them as never before. You’ll also never forget peering into those eyes. Near the beginning of the film Gram Parsons’ life is described by someone as a Tennessee Williams style “southern gothic novel come to life.” When it ends, you’ll have to agree with that dramatic description.

What makes this documentary so successful is the director's decision to not pass judgement on Parsons or the hanger-oners who accompanied him into the desert that fateful day.

Was Parsons a rich, undisciplined dilatante, playing at the music business game? A talented but emotionally flawed artist whose art sprang from his dark impulses? These and all of the questions that arise from the life, times and music of Gram Parsons are not answered by the documentary. Rather, it provides the information needed for viewers to provide their own answers.

No fan of The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers, or of the American music of that era should miss this film, loving made and financed by Europeans. If my experience is indicative, Fallen Angel is a story filled with music, images and questions you’ll wish to revisit often.