Superbly shot and released in 2011 to great critical acclaim, psychological thriller Take Shelter is independent American director Jeff Nichols’ second feature film. Prone to hallucinations and persisting nightmares, working class father Curtis LaForche’s (Michael Shannon) mental state deteriorates gradually to the detriment of ... [Continue Reading]
cinema
Steindór Andersen & Sigur Rós: Á ferð til breiðafjarðar vorið 1922
In 2007, Icelandic band Sigur Rós released Heima, a full length feature capturing a series of free and impromptu concerts filmed across “the furthest flung corners of their homeland” in 2006. Superbly shot in several breath-taking locations by Canadian film director, animator and long-time fan of the band Dean DeBlois, the ... [Continue Reading]
Marideth Sisco: High on a mountain
Marideth Sisco (b. 1943) is neither a professional singer nor an actress, but when independent film director Debra Granik started researching and gathering material for her upcoming feature Winter’s Bone (2010), she hired the veteran teacher, part-time musician and journalist as a music consultant. Set in the desolate backdrop ... [Continue Reading]
Benh Zeitlin & Dan Romer: Beasts of the southern wild
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) is a first independent film by Benh Zeitlin which has garnered unprecedented accolades at film festivals around the world. The film is set in Louisiana, or more precisely in “the bathtub”, an imaginary bayou cut off from the main land by a levee. Seen through the eyes of Hushpuppy, a ... [Continue Reading]
Gustavo Santaolalla: De Ushuaia a la Quiaca
Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla’s powerful theme “De Ushuaia a la Quiaca” is used to stunning effect at the very end of The Motorcycle Diaries (2004). Based on Ernesto Guevara’s [amazon text=eponymous&asin=0007172338] memoirs and on his companion Alberto Granado’s book [amazon text=Traveling with Che Guevara: The ... [Continue Reading]
Dustin O’Halloran: Opus 37
Dustin O’Halloran (b. 1971) is a Californian-raised pianist and composer now based in Berlin. Influenced by classical composers like Erik Satie, Claude Debussy and Frédéric Chopin amongst others, Dustin O’Halloran is also associated with modern musicians like Arvo Pärt, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Nils Frahm or Peter Broderick. ... [Continue Reading]
Dinah Washington & Max Richter: This bitter earth/ On the nature of daylight
"This bitter earth/On the nature of daylight" is the song that concludes Martin Scorsese’s 2010 psychological thriller Shutter Island. None of the music for the film’s soundtrack was actually composed for the film but it was (expertly) curated by musician and long-time collaborator Robbie Robertson, whom Martin Scorsese ... [Continue Reading]