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.
Related Products
Country: France
With unerring curiousity and sensitivity, director Philbert portrays the difficulties and joys of being deaf, offering vivid portraits of people of all ages coping with and surmounting their... More
Country: France, France, France
Born in the jungles of Borneo, Nénette is a 40-year-old orangutan — and the oldest (and most beloved) inhabitant at the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Nénette is... More
Country: France, France, France, France
Country: France, France, France, France, France
LOUVRE CITY takes the form of one of the classic symphonies of the 1920s, which begin at daybreak, end at nightfall, and chronicle the lives of urban dwellers at work and at play. Rather than focus o... More
Country: France, France, France, France, France, France
Every summer the patients and staff of the La Borde Psychiatric Clinic stage a theatrical performance. Focusing on the 1995 production of Operetta, this fascinating film reveals the porous boundary... More
Country: France, France, France, France, France, France, France
In ANIMALS AND MORE ANIMALS, Nicolas Philibert and his unobtrusive crew are there to chronicle the 1994 preparations for the animals' return. It's a glimpse into the world behind the displays of a... More
Country: France, France, France, France, France, France, France, France
In ANIMALS AND MORE ANIMALS, Nicolas Philibert and his unobtrusive crew are there to chronicle the 1994 preparations for the animals' return. It's a glimpse into the world behind the displays of a... More
Country: France, France, France, France, France, France, France, France, France
LA MAISON DE LA RADIO is a vibrant portrait of Radio France, that nation's equivalent of NPR or the BBC. Directed by Nicolas Philibert (To Be and To Have), a master of the documentary genre, LA MAISO... More
Country: France, France, France, France, France, France, France, France, France, South Africa, U.S.
Working secretly with activists and ordinary Africans, Lionel Rogosin created the first film exposing apartheid. He then took the fight for equality home to the US with the... More
Country: France, France, France, France, France, France, France, France, France, South Africa, U.S., South Africa, U.S.
Working secretly with activists and ordinary Africans, Lionel Rogosin created the first film exposing apartheid. He then took the fight for equality home to the US with the... More
Country: France, France, France, France, France, France, France, France, France, South Africa, U.S., South Africa, U.S., U.S.
Back Street tells the story of two people who meet and fall in love but are unable to marry due to impossible circumstances. However, despite their situation, they carry on a lifelong illicit affair... More
Country: France, France, France, France, France, France, France, France, France, South Africa, U.S., South Africa, U.S., U.S., U.S.
Running from the past and backing into love! Sally Field reunites with her Norma Rae director Martin Ritt (Hud, Paris Blues) for this engaging road comedy that also stars Tommy Lee Jones (The... More
RT' @LittleTwigRec': Out now! The beautiful score to' @LuzzuFilm', by' @JonNatchez'. Streaming on all your favorite music platforms.' https://t.co…'
Final few days to see Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s WIFE OF A SPY on the big screen at' @IFCCenter' in NYC. Must end Thursday!' https://t.co/uYpblbhGKt'
RT' @JackBluRay78': Silence of the Lambs 4K image is top notch. Wonderful fine grain, and sharp tight detail. Original 2.0 Stereo in Dolby S…
RT' @ecc72': Kino Lorber gets caught up in a WHIRLPOOL OF FATE (review):' https://t.co/EOVkQtxVeT'' @KinoLorber'' @dvdcompare'' https://t.co/ztuq4Ha…'
RT' @JonnyNumb': Spoils of the' @KinoLorber' sale, part one...' https://t.co/4hRvK1oxxK'
RT' @KLStudioClassic': KL ROCTOBER Sale Continues! (Over 850 Titles)' https://t.co/q2PocJapOi' Also, the WHILE SUPPLIES LAST Sale! (Over 200 Ti…
RT' @KLStudioClassic': KL ROCTOBER Sale Continues! (Over 850 Titles)' https://t.co/q2PocJapOi' Also, the WHILE SUPPLIES LAST Sale! (Over 200 Ti…
RT' @KLStudioClassic': Coming Soon! Body of My Enemy (1976) Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Bernard Blier & Marie-France Pisier – Shot by Jean…
RT' @KLStudioClassic': Coming January 2020 on 4KUHD! Fully Restored UHD SDR Master by MGM – Color Corrected in 2020 The Great Escape (1963)…
RT' @KLStudioClassic': KL ROCTOBER Sale Continues! (Over 850 Titles)' https://t.co/q2PocJapOi' Also, the WHILE SUPPLIES LAST Sale! (Over 200 Ti…
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
