Back to Normandy (DVD)
Directed by Nicolas Philibert
In 1976, French director René Allio made Moi, Pierre Rivière, a film based on a 19th-century countryside murder. The story had recently resurfaced thanks to Michel Foucault, who, after discovering the peasant murderer Rivière’s beautifully expressed confession, wrote a book about the case. Allio wanted to film the story on location, using farmers from the region of Normandy, where the crime occurred. 24-year-old Nicolas Philibert, the assistant director, was tasked with scouting locations and finding a cast among the locals. Thirty years later, Philibert returns to the region to catch up with the earlier film’s players, to revisit a page from his own history, and to tell the stories of this strange murder and the film that recreated it.
Back to Normandy is a film about the passage of time. In seeking out the cast, Philibert explores how we make connections between past and present, creating our own meaningful and personal narratives. As Phillibert reveals the motivations for the crime of Pierre Rivière, we also learn of the mysterious disappearance of the melancholy young villager who played him, Claude Hébert. When we finally learn what became of him, the parallels between the actor and his role are startling.
A subtle and contemplative film, Back to Normandy also follows Philibert as he delves into the diaries of his mentor Allio, telling the director’s story and chronicling the difficult production history of his most ambitious film. The patterns of rural life — the passing of the seasons, the raising of livestock, the cultivation of the land — have an amazing continuity stretching back from the 1830s to the present day. Like Ermanno Olmi’s The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978), it is an understated, pastoral epic.
“...An extraordinary journey through time, memory and the repercussions of a baffling, bygone crime.” - Jeannette Catsoulis, THE NEW YORK TIMES
“Richly rewarding... Philibert goes much deeper than a mere foray into how lives have changed: this is also a film about history...about memory, madness and motivation, and about various kinds and levels of documentation.” - Geoff Andrew, SIGHT AND SOUND
OFFICIAL SELECTION: Cannes Film Festival
OFFICIAL SELECTION: London Film Festival
Interested in bringing Back to Normandy to your school or library? If you'd like to have an in-class viewing, on-campus screening, or purchase the DVD for your library's collection, please contact Estelle Grosso or call (212) 629-6880 with your request.
Back to Normandy may also be available with Public Performance Rights (PPR) and Digital Site Licensing (DSL) for colleges and universities. To purchase the DVD with PPR or DSL, please contact Estelle Grosso or call (212) 629-6880. Click here to learn more at Kino Lorber Edu.
To read more about Kino Lorber Edu's terms of use and ordering information,
visit Kino Lorber Edu.
Head to' @Indiewire' to check out our brand new trailer for Russian #Oscars submission BEANPOLE, which won 28-year-ol…' https://t.co/SJmVeiWrIa'
THE CHAMBERMAID by' @lilaavilescine' is #6 on' @AskDebruge's' list of the best films of 2019!' https://t.co/ICXjCOn0jq'
RT' @IndieWire': #Beanpole Trailer: Russia’s Oscar Entry Takes a Haunting Look at an Obsessive Friendship in Post-WWII Leningrad' https://t.co…'
"This near-constant sparring between mother and son creates palpable tension throughout the film, but also the spac…' https://t.co/QZSFTUulIJ'
Bruno Dumont's COINCOIN AND THE EXTRA-HUMANS, Aaron Schimberg's CHAINED FOR LIFE, Jean-Luc Godard's THE IMAGE BOOK,…' https://t.co/jf29leSmRM'
RT' @tnyfrontrow': The best movies of 2019 and why this year—and this list—are different:' https://t.co/Li23YSkHV2'
RT' @tnyfrontrow': More good news: Jia Zhangke's I Wish I Knew, from 2010—one of his best films—is getting its long-overdue theatrical releas…
RT' @CAP_UCLA': Dawson City: Frozen Time is #3 on' @VanityFair's' best of the decade list! Tickets still available to see it with LA's own' @Wil…'
Beniamino Barrese's "mesmerizing, tender" (@aoscott) doc THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MY MOTHER about model turned activist…' https://t.co/5zULPQKJpD'
RT' @DavidGeoffreyA': An Italian Supermodel, At 75, Wants Only To Disappear. She Allows Only Her Son To Defy Her via' @forbes'' @BenBarrese' #the…
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