The Village Detective: a song cycle
Directed by Bill Morrison
The Village Detective: a song cycle
Writer Bill Morrison
Composed by David Lang
During the summer of 2016, a fishing boat off the shores of Iceland made a most curious catch: four reels of 35mm film, seemingly of Soviet provenance. Unlike the film find explored in Bill Morrison’s Dawson City: Frozen Time, it turned out this discovery wasn’t a lost work of major importance, but an incomplete print of a popular Soviet comedy from 1969, starring the beloved Russian actor Mihail Žarov. Does that mean it has no value? Morrison thought not. To him, the heavily water-damaged print, and the way it surfaced, could be seen as a fitting reflection on the film work of Žarov, who re-emerges from the bottom of the sea 50 years later like a Russian Rip Van Winkle, to a world where reels of film are as antiquated as the Soviet Union. But if celluloid film is the only medium that can survive the ocean, how will future generations remember us? Morrison uses the discovery as a jumping off point for his latest meditation on cinema’s past, offering a journey into Soviet history and film accompanied by a gorgeous score by Pulitzer and Grammy-winning composer David Lang.
Reviews
"A biographical documentary that only Morrison could deliver. With a fantastic score by David Lang, the director mesmerizingly weaves through an entire life of unbridled creativity while also, once again, instilling the importance of film preservation."
"Morrison’s movies feel like half-remembered reveries formed from memories you can no longer consciously recall. Hovering at the intersection of reappropriation, preservation, history, music, and art, any one of his works will haunt you for the rest of your life."
“The poetics of decomposition are the haunting, thrilling and... historically revelatory stuff of the cinema of Bill Morrison."
“A celebration of cinema that reflects life and art and its resilience to the test of time, both metaphorically and physically.”
“In merging these rescued images with beautiful, cerebral music, a new piece of art is built atop the old, offering both a celebration of what’s been found and what is still to come.”
"Critic's Pick! Bill Morrison, the poet laureate of lost films, turns the story of footage found near Iceland into a history of a slice of Soviet cinema."
Awards
Official Selection: International Film Festival Rotterdam, Telluride Film Festival
Soundtrack by Pulitzer and Grammy Award-Winner David Lang
“Provocative. Breathtaking vistas of green hills, waterfalls, and snowy mountaintops…contrast with the high-stakes…' https://t.co/n9LxgZvLq6'
“Mondocane is the genre movie that Italy had been waiting for.” - Giulio Zoppello,' @esquire' MONDOCANE opens today…' https://t.co/n5B0HLSzzN'
NOW PLAYING!🔥 In MONDOCANE, two best friends are caught between love, crime and ambition in a world of the future t…' https://t.co/g1ESNzyGDN'
"Kino Lorber’s new Miklós Jancsó Collection is both welcome and important... presents the esteemed but too-little-k…' https://t.co/zBb3XUXiYR'
MONDOCANE director Alessandro Celli "creates a world worth getting lost in as a viewer, opening up the senses as hi…' https://t.co/o6ievTTmaB'
RT' @am_cinematheque': LF3 limited engagement June 17th - 24th! Q&A w/' @SaulWilliams' &' @dreamstatesmeta' on 6/17 💫' https://t.co/dVIyx0d8Cn'
RT' @Kanopy': We're excited to be partnering with' @KinoLorber' on the release of BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER (2022). Look for this Nina Menk…
We're thrilled to partner with' @Kanopy' on the release of' @sundancefest' standout BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER from…' https://t.co/4yzX5rIO78'
RT' @dreamstatesmeta': NEPTUNE FROST SOON IN A THEATER NEAR YOU 🛸✨👁https://t.co/QmTpEM06GD' https://t.co/XV95A6gQMG'
NEPTUNE FROST takes place in the hilltops of Burundi, where a group of escaped coltan miners form an anti-coloniali…' https://t.co/BFy9gX3Xlj'
General Inquiries
333 W. 39th St., Ste. 503
New York, NY 10018
Tel. (800) 562-3330
Fax. (212) 714-0871
Press & Media
For publicity assistance and press inquiries please contact us by emailing dninh@kinolorber.com or calling 212-629-6880.
Educational
Please visit our educational site at www.KinoLorberEDU.com
For assistance with educational orders, please contact us at:
Phone:212-629-6880
Fax: 212-714-0871
Email: edu@kinolorber.com