South Korean film director Park Chan-Wook’s revenge drama Oldboy stunned audiences worldwide on its release in 2003 and went on to win several awards at various festivals including the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes film festival. Main character Oh Dae-su (Choi Min-sik) is abducted, held captive for 15 years before being suddenly ... [Continue Reading]
cinema
David Wingo: Take shelter
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]
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 ... [Continue Reading]
Marideth Sisco: High on a mountain
Marideth Sisco 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 of the ... [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 eponymous memoirs and on his companion Alberto Granado’s book "Traveling with Che Guevara: The Making of a Revolutionary", the Walter Salles ... [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]