Janus Metz og Sine Plambech: Heartbound

International release: 10th of September 2018 – TO-DAY – at the Toronto International Film Festival / Domestic release: 20th of September 2018.

Janus Metz og Sine Plambech’s films about this tale are Love on Delivery, 2007, Ticket to Paradise, 2008 and Heartbound, 2018.

ARRANGED MARRIAGES THAIS & DANES

The films take us to a windblown corner of North Jutland, where 575 Thai women live with their Danish husbands. Fifteen years ago there was only Sommai, a former sex worker from Pattaya. Opening with Sommai, the two films describe a network of strong, resolute Thai women who, through their marriages in Denmark, provide for themselves and an entire village in Thailand. Underlying Janus Metz’ documentaries, “Love on Delivery” and “Ticket to Paradise” is a focus on globalisation, poverty, prostitution and the universal need for security and love. Allan Berg Nielsen’s reflects on these two works, selected for IDFA 2008.

The location is introduced in beautiful photography by cinematographers Lars Skree and Henrik Bohn Ipsen. There is authority to these shots. A Jutlandic landscape that’s much, much more than a windswept corner of the country. A region and a people with a singular way of life, great dignity and their integrity intact. The photography conforms to my vision of the place that was shaped sometime back in the Romantic Age. Sommai is introduced with similar beauty and sureness. At first, it’s all about her. Once a stranger to these parts, she is now so integrated as anyone can be who looks different and comes from the other side of the globe. Then the story begins. All is well and good. I feel in good hands, from the beginning of the first documentary, Love on Delivery. I know I’ll stick with it. I sense that right away, because there’s a real story here, a love story that continues and concludes in part two, “Ticket to Paradise.”

LOVE ON DELIVERY (2007)

Sommai has been asked to arrange a marriage. She has done so before, found women in her home village and partnered them with men in Denmark. These women stick together, and we get to know two of them. As usual, Sommai has three months to get the job done, the duration of a tourist visa. The person we now turn our attention to, her sister’s daughter, arrives and is uneasily plunged right into things: classified ad, replies, choosing, meeting the man. Kjeld is his name, a nice, shy guy. Her helpers leave. Despondent, she stands in the doorway of the man’s house, the first truly gripping scene. What will become of her, this young woman, Kae?

This is a TV documentary, sure, but it looks nothing like reporting. It’s an elementary tale, and I want to know how it continues and ends, for now. Happily? (Meanwhile, there is a certain amount of required material to go through. The story appears to be set inside a social anthropological study.)

The film is a study of a unique, friendly community in a sweeping landscape. Another man found his girlfriend in the same way. As he soberly recounts, it “wasn’t love, but I thought she was … nice!” That’s one way to put it in our language, a colloquial Danish

that the documentary also describes in a special linguistic sub-plot. The region’s dialect is intact and the Thai women speak it in their own distinct way, underscoring their peculiarity.

Toward the end of the first film, I realise that, formally, this is an ethnographic project, a case study of carefully arranged marriages. But inside this piece of scientific fieldwork, Marion Tuor, the editor, delicately teases out a story that grows in intensity as the couple’s feelings change. It simply keeps getting more beautiful. And of course, I’m riveted, the documentary’s title nudging my mind, ‘The Story of How Kae Met Kjeld’

TICKET TO PARADISE (2008)

A temporary climax to the story occurs at the opening of the second film, “Ticket to Paradise”. The segment is handled with such filmic resolve that it surely has to rank among the many splendid weddings in film history, and among the oddest. It’s certainly lovely, in its stylised detachment and precise truncation. Here, editor Marion Tuor, seamlessly fuses the two films’ parallel ambitions, the social anthropologist’s and the filmmaker’s, rational explanation and sentimental movement. Throughout this dual film project, director Janus Metz collaborated with an ethnographer, Sine Plambech, and it’s interesting to note the degree to which scientific and cinematic methods and understanding merge.

The wedding is followed by separation. Kae’s visa has expired and she has to leave the country. I sense that things will not turn out well. Kjeld reveals as much, by a verbal conjugation, in an elegant flash-forward, describing the first few days after the wedding as the richest of his life. So, I think, things are bound to go wrong soon. The scenes linger, carrying the narrative bulk, often without dialogue. The overall tone is subdued, as are the internal monologues.

Then everyone, with his or her own serious task, seeks out Kae in the women’s remote village, and the scientific project takes over. We arrive in Thailand, and in the village. Now doing fieldwork, we sit in on a series of arranged and directed interactions that, subject by subject, uncover the village’s economic and moral situation. Now, I’ll do well to forget my romantically shaped outlook and, with it, love. This is all about the facts.

All the while, Skree’s cinematographic line continues unbroken, Tour’s editing still tells the story in whole scenes and – because the necessary journalism is subordinated to these moves (with brief reporting excursions: one to the city, to the bars and the culture there, and one of painful negotiations with a child father and ex-husband, a dramatic highlight) – I grow increasingly concerned (what happens to Kae and Kjeld during all these side stores?), subjected as I am to the editing’s unrelentingly calm turning, its resting in a scene until a moment before the scene dies, the wistfulness behind rare smiles (what’s Kjeld thinking during all this, his honeymoon?).

The two films explain a slew of issues. The carefully rendered scenes are even more revealing and the understatement and hesitant rhythm tell me that the films understand that we won’t get to know everything. We can’t. What do these women’s short sentences and long silences also say? What really goes on behind Kae’s wistful gaze? Kjeld is finding out. (Former printed in FILM # 64, DFI, 2008)

HEARTBOUND (2018)

Synopsis. ” ‘Heartbound’ is a unique longitudinal study of a network of Thai/Danish marriages shot over ten years. It is an exploration of globalization over time set on the intimate stage of marriage and family.

The film follows four couples and their children and documents how their lives develop as a consequence of the economic and emotional bonds that tie them together. It is an ensemble piece and an epic family drama set in two outskirt communities at either side of the global divide – yet intimately connected through marriage migration.

Through its dynamic time span the film traces how the women’s migration and their efforts to help their families affect their children many years down the line. Simultaneously it looks at the ways in which men from a remote region in Northern Denmark try to adopt the great big world to their safe and well-known quarters.

‘Heartbound’ is a film about our shared human needs for love, dignity and money – even if our cultural interpretation of these needs may differ. It’s a film about people who try to change their lives when choices are few, and a film that explores the consequences of these life choices not only for the men and the women who make them, but also for the children who have to live on with them.

In this way, ‘Heartbound’ ties together migration and integration over a unique time perspective and discusses one of the greatest movements and challenges of our time: The increasing flow across borders of people, money and ideas in our global sharing of the present.” (Synopsis, Magic Hour Films’ site)

International release: September 2018 at the Toronto International Film Festival / Domestic release: 20th of September / Genre: Documentary feature / Directed by Janus Metz and Sine Plambech / Production Company: Magic Hour Films and Metz Film / Coproducers: Upfront Films, BALDR Film, Vilda Bomben Film and Film i Väst / Production Countries: Denmark, Thailand, The Netherlands and Sweden. 

Baltic Sea Forum – Public Pitching

24 projects were presented in Riga at the big hall of the Ministry of Agriculture (!) Saturday and Sunday. To a panel of 9 women and 5 men representing television or sales companies. Mikael Opstrup and I moderated the sessions that were planned efficiently and with warmth by Zanda Dudina-Spoge and her team from the National Film Centre of Latvia.

Time will show what will come out of it, but good advice, constructive criticism, contacts, “I am interested, let’s talk more” were expressed to the pitching teams that had been trained

some days in advance by editor Phil Jandaly, Aleksandar Govedarica from Syndicado, Head of Estonian Television channel 1 Marje Töemäe, Polish producer Anna Wydra and Romanian Alexander Nanau.

It is impossible to mention all 24 projects – you can read all about them on the website, link below. But let me highlight some of them.

… like 18C from Ukraine, presented by the producer Illia Gladshtein about a group of “devoted pipefitters (who) rush from home to home to tame hot fountains and… to sing”. Gladsthein (the director, not present, is Nadia Parfan) had a great trailer that cleverly charmed the panel in its pointing out that “outdated social structures do not fit into the modern economy but continue to exist”. The title refers to the temperature agreed to be the right one in houses in Ukraine.

… like “New Imperium” presented by well known Russian producer Vlad Ketkovich and director Anna Shishova-Bogolubova, who want to tell a story about a group of youngsters, who by a secret agent were trapped into being called extremists, were imprisoned and tortured “to confess to crimes they did not commit”. The trailer showed them sitting in one of these cages that we know from Russian court, but the main focus is on the parents of two of the imprisoned, who have totally lost their trust in a state that they believed in totally. Ketkovich started his pitch saying “Russia is famous” and indeed it is, also in terms of projects being presented in Riga this year.

… as said Estonian producer Riho Västrik to me: It is a place for Russian stories, well not totally, I answered, but a majority deals with the huge country. He was there with Russian Ksenia Okhapkina, who showed the most beautifully composed images in a trailer that took us to the industrial town of Apatity for a filmic essay, “The Immortal”, a dark story from a mining city “on the brink of an ecological disaster”. The most cinematic project in Riga this year, a scary concrete and philosophical reflection on patriotism.

…the winner, however, in terms of positive feedback from the panel was “The Other Side of the River” by the two brave young women, German Antonia Kilian, director – and camera student at the Konrad Wolf film school in Potsdam – and the creative producer Guevara Namer, who Mikael Opstrup and I met in Damascus as part of the team that built up the DOX BOX festival together with Orwa Nyrabia and Diana el Jeiroudi. They are now all in Berlin. Kilian and Namer presented with passion the story about young Hala, who is brought up in a family that supports ISIS but wants to have freedom, goes to join the Kurdish Women’s Police Force, receives military and ideological training, goes back to the hometown on the other side of the river, wants to “liberate” her smaller sisters from her father’s wish to arrange marriage, is taken away from the Police force and – as the filmmakers say – wants to find a way to handle her life. The last news, however, is that she is going to marry a man, who supports Assad! What a story…

I wrote that some were winners, however I hope that all projects took something from the workshop and the pitching, several were at an early stage and will come back to other pitching events, when the film ideas are more developed.

The panel… the women were strong. Natalia Arshavskaya from Current Time TV – she was there with Kenan Aliuyev – proved to be an excellent commentator, precise in her warm analysis of the projects; the same goes for the two sales agents, Gitte Hansen from First Hand Films in Switzerland and Aleksandra Derewienko from Cat&Docs in France, both of them have been at the BalticSeaDocs before and love it; for Mandy Chang from BBC’s Storyville it was the first time and she was a pleasure to have with her professionalism, always constructive in her comments as were another experienced commissioning editor Jutta Krug from WRD. No bad words about the men – it was a scoop for the event to have NHK’s Yoshihiko Ichiya, a professional, who also brings humour to the table!

Photo of Guevara Namer and Antonia Kilian by Agnese Zeltiņa

http://balticseadocs.lv/industry/

‘

Ingmar Bergman 100 år /10

TINA RØMER: BERGMAN OG MUSIKKEN

Radioprogram i tre dele som genudsendtes 1. september på DR P2. Kan fortsat høres som podcast på

https://www.dr.dk/radio/p2/bergman-og-musikken/bergman-og-musikken-1

Her kommer derfor og stadigvæk med anbefaling af dette fornemme radioværk flere af mine notater fra min lytten til udsendelserne:

11

Det er radioseriens anden del. Peter Schepelern mener at solocellostykkerne af Johan Sebastian Bach er menneskehedens stemme. Tina Rømer er på færgen. Hun tænker på Bergmans røde jeep som har været der et utal af gange. Jeg burde citere hendes små synopser i afsnittenes begyndelse, så enkle og naturlige. Skrive dem ned. Det når jeg ikke, men husker dem som en glad forventning. Bløndal Bengtsson spiller Bach. Hun fortæller at Som i et spejl fra 1960 er indspillet på Fårö, det var sådan han kom til det sted. Indspillede et kammerspil som var det kammermusik, i et sommerhus bygget til filmen, i det indre af et skibsvrag på stranden og så med celloens søgende, tragiske stemme, menneskelig.

12

Persona fra 1965 er også indspillet på øen. Musikken helt forrygende udbryder Tina Rømer glad. Den asketiske Schepelern giver hende ret. Det er en violinkoncert af Bach. Liv Ullmann siger blot ét eneste ord i hele filmen: ”ingenting”. Bibi Andersson siger det hele. De to i radioprammet snakker uanspændt og klogt om det, det er god radio en søndag formiddag med kølig sommerregn som i dag jeg hører serien alle tre timer som podcast. Tina Rømer er nu helt tæt på Fårö, fortæller hun. Jeg kan altså godt lide denne ramme af luft og hav og himmel og disse dufte… ”musikken var for Bergman adgang til en anden virkelighed”. Hun nærmer sig Bergman.

13

I 1961 lavede Bergman en meget rost opsætning af Igor Stravinskijs opera Lastens vej på Operan i Stockholm. De snakker vidende og klogt om dette arbejde, jeg lytter ekstra, for oplysningerne er nye for mig. Jeg hører musikken, har vanskeligt ved at forbinde Stravinskij med Bergman, har så godt af at høre Schepelern og Rømer tale indforstået med hinanden om sammenhængen mellem Salmesymfonien af Stravinskij og slutningen på Bachs H-moll messe som Bergman forklarer et vigtigt sted, så godt at blive erindret om stedet i Laterna Magica. Det havde jeg helt glemt. Det er tid at læse bogen igen. Tina Rømer er nu omsider i land på Fårö, står ved sin lejede cykel, og taler til mig, hun prøver naturligvis med det samme cykelklokken, så jeg kan høre den i min radio.

14

Hvisken og råb er fra 1971. Bergman bruger farverne endnu en gang, ikke automatisk, men bevidst. Den særligt røde og den helt hvide og så musikken, igen sarabanden fra 5. cellosuite. Jeg får at vide at Pablo Cassals som 90 år gammel øvede sig på cellosuiterne hver dag, ”fordi jeg gør fremskridt”.

Jeg forstår som Tina Rømer skildrer det i voksende omfang denne sarabandesats’ betydning i Bergmans samlede værk, tænker på det mens Schepelern genfortæller filmens afgørende afsnit om dødens vanskelighed så smukt og jeg ser scenerne for mig. En bestemt scene minder ham om Michelangelos Pieta i Peterskirken, mor og barn og hos Bergman dødens fortroliggørelse i Kari Sylwans og Harriet Andersons uforglemmelige fremstilling. Jeg lytter til billeddannende radiokunst…

FOTOS

Som i et spejl, Harriet Andersson og Max von Sydow (foto: Sven Nykvist)  

Hvisken og råb, Harriet Andersson og Kari Sylwan (foto: Sven Nykvist) 

Nordic Documentary Films

Diversity is the word to characterize this selection of Nordic documentaries. Veterans and young talents, classical documentary language as well as so-called hybrid storytelling including fiction and animation in the documentary narrative.

The selection shows that the documentary environment in Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark is based on tradition; there is an audience, there is good funding through film institutions. To put it a bit solemn and maybe elitist: In the Nordic countries documentaries are considered as a tool for debate, information and an artistic expression in democratic societies.

Ah, fuck off, legendary Jörn Donner would say to these lines, a true provocateur, who 85 year old makes a follow-up to his Finland-film from 1971, “Fuck Off 2” is the title, where he sends a sometimes sarcastic love declaration to his country, a journey he calls this personal essay, with songs written by another legendary Finn, the composer M.A. Numminen.

Where the visual side of Donner’s film is straight forward documentary mixed with reportage, the Icelandic “Innsaei” (“The Power of Intuition”) is a personal essay including animation, a film full of original visual solutions, that demonstrates how rich the documentary language is today. No limits from the side of Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir and Kristin Ólafsdóttir.

The Norwegian “69 Minutes of 86 Days” by Egil Håskjold Larsen combines emotion and information in its journey with a 3 year old child’s from Greece to Uppsala in Sweden. The girl is wonderful in her way of dealing with her refugee situation and the classical approach to documentary filmmaking works here: Don’t ask your characters to do anything, don’t put any questions, be there, be with them, observe…

As it is beautiful to follow the mayor in the small Swedish Ydre, when he goes with a small gift to couples, who have added a new citizen to the depopulated community. With a baby. The documentary, full of humour, gives the information and interpretation of the universal problems of Ydre, but has also a side where myths about the existence of Giants and trolls are visually brought to life in the beautiful nature of the small gem in Sweden. Malla Grapengiesser, Alexander Rynéus and Per Bifrost have made the film together, Grapengiesser also being the producer and the two males doing the camera work. Title: Giants and the Morning After.

Finally the Danish contribution, “Bad Circumstances” by Max Kestner, experienced director, like all film directors in this series a true auteur with his own “handwriting”, takes to the detective genre to carry the story together with an essayistic touch, still with an observational camera style and a fascinating main character, the amateur historian, who wants to find out, what happened to the Danish adventurers and scientists, who died in Greenland in the beginning of the 20th century.

https://message2man.com/en/

Baltic Sea Forum – Bridges of Time

The national premiere of “Bridges of Time” by Audrius Stonys and Kristine Briede took place Wednesday night in several cinemas in Latvia. I was in the art house cinema K-Suns in Riga, where the film was screened with English subtitles, whereas the bigger Splendid Palace cinema was for the Latvian version. Kristine Briede was there, Stonys sent a video message from Bangla Desh, three of the masters who are in the film – Ivars Seleckis, Mark Soosaar and Andres Sööt – were on stage together with producers Uldis Cekulis and Riho Västrik from  Latvia and Estonia – and it was wonderful to meet again Herz Frank and Uldis Brauns, to mention two of the legendary characters from the film, who are alive on screen. I hope that this film will travel to give inspiration to new generations of filmmakers: poetry and documentaries can go together.

During two days of training 24 film projects have been presented to a group of tutors, this morning a rehearsal will take place in the new room for pitching, a hall at the Ministry of Agriculture!

The quality level of projects is high and the pitch teams, who are preparing for tomorrow and Sunday, have been working full time to make the verbal and visual presentation go well together. There is so much talent in this part of the world.

I can only say thank you for being part of this.

Photo: Agnese Zeltiņa, the superb Forum photographer.

http://balticseadocs.lv/

Ingmar Bergman 100 år /9

TINA RØMER: BERGMAN OG MUSIKKEN

Radioprogram i tre dele som genudsendtes 1. september på DR P2. Kan fortsat høres som podcast på

https://www.dr.dk/radio/p2/bergman-og-musikken/bergman-og-musikken-1

Her følger fortsat og stadigvæk med min bedste anbefaling af dette fornemme radioværk mine notater fra udsendelserne tidligere denne sommer:

6

Tina Rømer og Peter Schepelern fortsætter med at tale om musikken i Bergmans værk, nu om filmen To mennesker fra 1949 hvis svenske titel er Till glädje. Den handler om to violinister i et lille orkester og deres kærlighedsliv og den handler om orkesteret. Det er ikke nogen vigtig film i Bergmans værk, men den er central for radioprogrammet fordi den viser at musikere og musik fra begyndelsen har været særligt integreret i det samlede filmværk, og så er der her det at Bergman i sin bog Billeder i tilbageblikket skriver om sit misbrug af musik. Ubehageligt, men nødvendigt at tænke tilbage på i bogens hensynsløse selvopgør. Jeg noterer så her en længere ekskurs til Bergmans tekst:

”… I Helsingborg eksisterede der et overmåde underdimensioneret symfoniorkester, som frejdigt spillede sig gennem den store symfonilitteratur. Så ofte jeg havde tid og mulighed, overværede jeg orkesterprøverne. Som punktum for sæsonen ville man opføre Beethovens niende. Jeg fik lov til at låne partituret af dirigenten Sten Frykberg, og var i stand til at leve med i det lille orkesters og det uhonorerede, men glødende amatørkors dødsforagtende arbejde. Det var en enorm og rørende indsats. Et pragtfuldt oplæg til en film. Det lå snublende nær at omdanne teatermenneskene i min selvbiografiske film (som Bergman havde planlagt om tiden som chef på teatret i Helsingborg) til musikere og give den navnet Till glädje (dansk titel To mennesker) efter Beethovens symfoni…”

”… To mennesker er en håbløst ujævn film, men den har et par troværdige indslag. En god scene er det natlige opgør mllem Stig Olin og Maj-Britt Nilsson. Den er god, fordi Maj-Britt Nilsson spiller så kompetent. Den er ægte, fordi den på en hæderlig måde anskueliggør mine egne ægteskabelige komplikationer. Men To mennesker er også et umuligt melodrama. En skæbnesvanger primus eksploderer i filmens begyndelse, og Beethovens niende symfoni udnyttes skamløst. Jeg har for så vidt intet imod hverken melodramaet eller den såkaldte soap opera. Ugenert følelesladede muligheder skænkes den, som bruger melodramaet på den rigtige måde. Jeg kan som i Fanny og Alexander, tumle mig i total frihed. Jeg må blot hele tiden gøre mig det klart, hvor grænsen ligger til det uacceptable og komiske. Det var jeg ikke klar over i To mennesker. Sammenkoblingen af konens død og Beethovens An die Freude er sjusket og utrolig letsindig…”

7

”… han sætter pladen på, det er Beethovens klaverkoncert nr. 4 i G-dur” fortælles det et sted i Linn Ullmanns bog De urolige, og Tina Rømer lader citatet læse op og vælger så klogt og rigtigt, at det kunne være begyndelsen af anden sats og spiller stykket i forbindelse med oplæsningen. ”Anden sats andante con moto er helt og holdent bygget på et stærkt modsætningsforhold mellem orkester og klaver i en stadig skiften mellem dramatisk og poetisk udtryk… (Sverre Forchhammer i en pladenote). Oplæsningen fortsætter: ”Han: ’Der findes ikke noget større end dette, bortset fra Bach, muligvis.’ Længe er der kun musik. Hun siger noget på båndet, men det er ikke muligt at høre hvad. Han afbryder hende. Han (med høj stemme): ’Jeg vil ikke tale. Jeg vil helst ikke tale oven i Beethoven. Jeg vil ikke snakke i munden på Beethoven.’

8

Peter Schepelern brillerer dæmpet intens med sin detaljerede viden. Nu om Gøglernes aften, 1953, han fortæller om en særlig scene hvor klovnen redder sin kone fra soldaternes spot. Det er selvfølgelig også den scene jeg husker fra jeg for mange år siden så filmen, jeg ser billederne mens Schepelern fortæller, mærker stemningen, ubehaget. Og Schepelern fortæller om komponisten Karl-Birger Blohmdals modernistiske musik, og den viden er til gengæld ny for mig. Og han fortæller om filmmusikken i mesterværket, fastslår han forståeligt, Det syvende segl, 1956. Den er komponeret af Erik Nordgren, som jeg forstår er hans favorit, det er ”en fornem behersket musik”, Schepelern taler næsten morsomt distanceret om den. Dies irae…

9

Tina Rømer fortæller nu om sin rejse – jeg bliver så glad for at blive taget tilbage til hendes lille reportage, holder så meget af tonefaldet, troskyldigheden. Det er radio det her, når radio er bedst, synes jeg.

10

Og så igen et mesterværk, Smultronstället fra 1957, et Bergman mesterværk og et Erik Nordgren mesterværk. Schepelern nynner Nordgrens tema som er tre toner som også er tema i Bachs wohltemperierte klavier. Og der er nu et fint lille sted hvor jeg hører de to se filmen sammen og snakke lidt mens de ser. De to må godt snakke sammen under musikken. Det her er radio om film, billeddannende radiokunst om scenen, hvor Bibi Anderson spiller på klaveret og så om overgangen fra Johan Sebastan Bach til Erik Nordgren og så tilbage igen og ind under Tina Rømers afmelding af afsnittet: ”Færgen er i havn og jeg ser nu Fårø…”

FOTOS

Maj-Britt Nilsson og Stig Olin i To mennesker (foto: Gunnar Fischer)

Linn Ullmann i København ved udgivelsen af De urolige (foto: Politiken)

RADIOSERIENS INDHOLD

1. afsnit: Rejsen til den fjerne svenske ø Fårö begynder, samtidig med at turen går tilbage til den første tid med klassisk musik. Film som Musik i mørke og Ved vejs ende er fulde af klassisk musik og på teatret kaster Bergman også sin kærlighed over musikken.

2. afsnit: Efter en dagsrejse når vi frem til Fårö, hvor Bergman træder i karakter som auteur. Bergman indspiller filmene Som i et spejl og Persona på Fårö – og han finder hjem på øen og i musikken af Bach.

3. afsnit: Rejsen slutter ved Bergmans gravsted og hus ved stranden på Fårö, hvor Bergman dirigerer de sidste film uden at ryste på hånden. Med Fanny og Alexander får Bergman sit folkelige gennembrud, og musikken er der fortsat som en budbringer om en anden virkelighed. (DR P2 program)

LINKS OG LITTERATUR

Efter Bergman og musikken står tilbage at gense filmene som vises i Cinemateket i København, læse bøgerne og gense Marie Nyreröds tvserie Ingmar Bergman på Fårö, som Tina Rømers radioserie nu flankerer så fornemt:

Bergman og musikken 1:3 – En kærlighed der ikke er gengældt (radioserien podcast)

https://www.dfi.dk/cinemateket/biograf/filmserier/serie/16793 (filmserien i Cinemateket)

Ingmar Bergman: Laterna magica, 1987, og Billeder, 1990

Linn Ullmann: De urolige, 2015

Marie Nyreröd: Ingmar Bergman på Fårö, 2003. Serien kan ses i alle lande til 25. december:

https://www.svtplay.se/video/16452826/ingmar-bergman-pa-faro-x-3/ingmar-bergman-sasong-1-bergman-och-filmen

https://www.svtplay.se/video/16453194/ingmar-bergman-pa-faro-x-3/ingmar-bergman-sasong-1-bergman-och-teatern

https://www.svtplay.se/video/16452814/ingmar-bergman-pa-faro-x-3/ingmar-bergman-sasong-1-bergman-och-faro 

Ivars Seleckis and the Children

Good news indeed from Riga, where I am at the Baltic Sea Docs for the rest of the week. Arriving I read on FNE News – link below – that the Latvians have done what the Lithuanians did with Arunas Matelis film “Wonderful Losers” – they took a documentary as their Oscar candidate. Here is a copy paste:

“Veteran filmmaker Ivars Seleckis’s

documentary To Be Continued has been selected as Latvia’s official entry for the US Academy Awards in the Foreign Language Film category.

Shot over the course of two years, the film follows seven children in various parts of Latvia. They are seven children at the intersection of various historical, social and economic processes. What are the skills, values and hopes instilled into them by the legacy of the past and the reality of today?

The film was produced by Mistrus Media and it was supported by the National Film Center of Latvia.

To Be Continued is one of the most successful productions of the Latvian Films for Latvia’s Centenary programme. Its international premiere took place at the Visions du Réel International Documentary Film Festival in Nyon in 2018.”

And another copy paste from my review of the film on this site:

“Dear Ivars, dear friend, dear master. I have seen your film. I love it. As FILM and as one who has the age of a grandfather and very often are blessed with visits from kids at the same age as those in your film: 2 are 6 years old and have just started in school, 2 are 4 years old. Children are children, wherever they are and I could recognize so many ways of behaviour, so many reactions, facial expressions, clever reflections and thoughts about the world we live in. As you say in the beginning of the film: May they live in peaceful times…”

Tonight there is the national premiere of “Bridges of Time” by Kristine Briede and Audrius Stonys, that is an homage to the poetic Baltic documentary cinema. Ivars Seleckis is one of the directors, who appear in the film.

http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/4075/

http://filmneweurope.com

http://balticseadocs.lv/

Magnus Lindeen: The Raft

Hvorfor er det så, at jeg ikke bliver fanget af denne historie, som på papir ser spændende ud, lad mig citere fra pressematerialet, hvad ”The Raft” drejer sig om:

”I 1973 var det at deltage i et

socialt eksperiment noget helt nyt. Her handlede det på INGEN måde om at blive kendt. Det skabte kæmpe opsigt verden over, da den meksikanske antropolog Santiago Genovés besluttede sig for at blande 11 kvinder og mænd med vidt forskellig baggrund, civilstatus og nationalitet og sende dem over Atlanten i en tømmerflåde, der mindede om en form for skib. De 11 deltagere satte deres liv på spil for videnskabens skyld. De deltog i et socialt eksperiment, som skulle kaste lys over voldens ophav og dynamikken i seksuel attraktion…”

Hvorfor er det så…: Er det fordi filmen i sin konstruktion, i hvert fald i begyndelsen, er gumpetung skematisk og forudsigelig i sin præsentation af de seks kvinder og en mand, som 43 år senere mødes for at tale om de 101 dage til søs? I et studie hvor en kopi af flåden er bygget op. En efter en præsenterer de sig, de ældre damer og den japanske mand, med klip tilbage til den tid, hvor de som unge bikini-klædte bevæger sig rundt på skibet.

Hvorfor er det så…? Den fanger mig ikke, måske også fordi hovedpersonen, bortset fra et klip i start og til slut ikke er tilstede – han døde i 2013 – men (re)præsenteres af citater fra sin bog, der består af dagbogsnotater oplæst patetisk af en skuespiller.

Det er her dramaet ligger, hos antropologen, der registrerer og observerer og tager grueligt fejl, og opfører sig på bedste machomanér overfor pigerne – der er også andre mænd på båden, men de er døde så hankønnet er 43 år senere kun repræsenteret af japaneren.

Det meste ligger altså i den oplæste tekst, der er placeret ind imellem de filmede episoder fra sejladsen og interviews og samtaler med de ældre kvinder, som gør deres bedste for at huske og formulere. Den bedste til det, 43 år efter, hun leder samtalen på kopi-flåden i studiet, er den afroamerikanske kvinde, som kalder Genovés for racist og erindrer, hvordan forholdet mellem ham og de deltagende guinea pigs på et tidspunkt var så dårligt, at de planlagde at slå ham ihjel!

For hende betød turen noget, det kommer tydeligt frem, for de andre tog de bare hjem og fortsatte deres liv som før.

Hvorfor er det så…? Når nu hovedpersonen ikke kunne være med personligt i filmen, var der så nok materiale, og interessant materiale nok til en film, spørger jeg mig selv uhøfligt overfor hvad jeg har set og bliver endnu mere skeptisk, da kvinderne og japaneren til slut i filmen lytter til et bånd, hvor Genovés taler om turen. Han har ikke meget at sige, mildest talt. Han undskylder og kommer med statistik, der siger at de fleste af de deltagende mener at de er blevet mere tolerante af oplevelsen! ”I think that’s all, he says”… Og det var ikke meget!

Og dog – som den afroamerikanske kvinde siger – vi lærte hinanden at kende, vi holdt sammen – og det er der visuelt belæg for i billederne fra flåden. En lille trøster ift. en film, som jeg ikke blev fanget af!

Sverige, Danmark, 2018, 98 mins.

Filmen har premiere den 5. september i 50 biografer landet over, arrangeret af DOXBio.

Göran Hugo Olsson: That Summer

The Danish co-producer of the film, Final Cut for Real, gives this description of the film:

“”That Summer” is a feature documentary centered on the film project artist Peter Beard initiated in 1972 with Lee Radziwill about her relatives, the Beales of Grey Gardens. Lost for decades, this extraordinary footage re-emerges in a film that

focuses on Beard and his family of friends, who formed an enormously influential and vibrant creative community in Montauk, Long Island (NY) in the 1970s. Featuring Peter Beard, Lee Radziwill, Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale, Edith Bouvier Beale, Andy Warhol. Including footage directed by Peter Beard, Jonas Mekas, Andy Warhol and with additional cinematography by Albert Maysles and Vincent Fremont.”

It’s not only lovely to meet the Beales again in footage that was shot before the Maysles Brothers made “Grey Gardens”, it is wonderful to meet Peter Beard and Lee Radziwill; the first is introduced masterly through him scrolling in one of his photo books in the first five minutes of the film, and Radziwill – the sister of Jacqueline Kennedy – who is in the picture all the time, when the extraordinary material is shown, 4 reels with image and sound synchronized, and her voice of today stressing how important Peter Beard was for the avant-garde film scene at that time. The film shows how much love, she had for the two and how she fought for the house to stay even if the authorities wanted to discuss its demolition because of the unhealthy mess they were living in. Radziwill succeeded.

In the press material Göran Olsson is asked if he thinks the film is interesting for a new generation of filmmakers. Yes, he says, and Yes I say: The found footage with mother and daughter is filmed in the way that – with the words of Richard Leacock – you get the sense of being there. It’s creating an atmosphere of presence with full respect for the two women. There are marvelous scenes like the one, where Aunt Edie asks the cameraman to film the portrait of herself but discovers that it is more interested in Little Edie… or the one where Lee and her children (?) is looking out the window discussing with the two women how to feed the raccoons, with cakes or with hippie-food…

The film ends with Beard on knees in his studio, making one of his collages. The 80 year old artist says: I do it “to keep the pen going”!

“Parlez-moi d’amour”, aunt Edie sings. This is what the film does.

Sweden, USA, Denmark, 2017, 80 mins.

The film is shown at Cinemateket, Copenhagen tomorrow September 4th at two evening screenings. The director is present.

The photo of Edith Bouvier Beale and Lee Radziwill is taken by Peter Beard.

https://www.dfi.dk/cinemateket/biograf/alle-film/film/summer

Ingmar Bergman 100 år /8

TINA RØMER: BERGMAN OG MUSIKKEN

Radioprogram i tre dele GENUDSENDES I DAG 15 – 18 på DR P2

Her følger med min bedste anbefaling af dette fornemme radioværk mine notater fra udsendelserne tidligere denne sommer:

1

Første afsnit En kærlighed der ikke er gengældt i aften, fredag den 20. juli. Det kommer bag på mig, at udsendelsen kommer direkte nu mens jeg har P 2 kørende i mit køkken, jeg bliver glad, havde glædet mig, Tue Steen Müller havde gjort mig opmærksom på serien, jeg havde tænkt at finde den på computeren inde på skrivebordet. Nu er det direkte og så er det, at jeg opdager jeg radiokvaliteten, for at bestille den som podcast på computeren vil være noget helt andet. I min radio bevares nuet som tilstand. Jeg tror på at det er Tina Rømer, som taler til mig, som så ofte i Natsværmeren. Radio er nærvær, en stemme i min lille køkkenradio, til mig alene. Podcast er distance, det er som CD er i forhold til koncertsalen, begge muligheder er uundværlige, men næstbedst, men også altså: computeren er min chance og muligheden for at gentage det hele i den tænkte sammenhæng, som her er vigtig, da det er en rejse fra København til Bergmans Fårö og til musikken og hjem igen, som Tina Rømer foretager så naturligt personlig… Og jeg begynder med det samme at skrive notater i min lommebog, de følger her…

Tina Rømer

2

Her er en lille ekskurs: Jeg opdagede en beslægtet radiokvalitet ved P2 morgenandagterne fra domkirken i København som sendes direkte hver dag efter radioavisen klokken otte. Og det var fordi den præst som havde tjenesten den morgen – det var Steffen Ringgaard Andresen – er opmærksom på radiokvaliteten, tænkte jeg med ét, og det var nok fordi han lagde en ekstra kvalitet til, og det gør han hver gang ved jeg nu. Læg en uge han har tjenesten mærke til hans fine, fine behandling af teksterne. Jeg mærker i afdæmpetheden og i den moderne, ja, moderne! – eller tidssvarende måske og voksne udtale og stemmeføring en forståelse af radiomediet. Fra præstens tæt placerede mikrofon som fra et studie uden om det store kirkerums akustik direkte til min højttaler. En forståelse som uden videre fører til min således nu helt anderledes forståelse af teksternes arkitektur og indhold. Morgenandagten er med det ændret fra transmission til radiokunst, fra reportage til gudstjeneste.

3

Jeg kender Tina Rømer fra hendes programmer for en tilsvarende afdæmpethed og sprogbehandling og mediebevidsthed. For hende er opgaven med Bergman og musikken at komme tæt på det sted Bergman holdt så meget af, hvor han boede et halvt liv og igen sin sidste tid. En korsats fra Matthæuspassionen ledsager Tina Rømers dæmpede stemme, hun fortæller det begyndte med, at faderen tog ham med til opførelsen i kirken og henter fra Linn Ullmanns bog De urolige hans drøm om den store koncertsal – Bergmann drømmer han som dirigent træder ind i et vældigt højloftet rum hvor fugle flyver frit omkring og et kæmpestort symfoniorkester og tilsvarende kor sidder og står på gulvet, Bachs og Beethovens partiturer ligger på pulten, Ingmar Bergman er dirigenten, Rømer lader mig høre hvilke, serien er jo et musikprogram på en musikkanal, var Bergman ikke blevet teater- og filminstruktør og forfatter var det bestemt gået med ham som i drømmen.

4

Peter Schepelern fortæller i en stilfærdig parallelt løbende samtale med Rømer fra sit store lager af paratviden om både film og musik, om både Bergmans biografi og komponisternes biografier. Jeg tænker: kommer deres værker af deres liv? Hvordan det? Jeg må repetere hvordan det nu var med den biografiske metode før Wellek og Warren og deres introduktion af nykritikken og opfattelsen af værket som autonomt. Men den biografiske tilgang er bestemt også nu den klassiske dannelse på P2 og biografierne fortælles her selvfølgeligt og befriende uanstrengt, jeg kan blot sidde med en kop kaffe og bare lytte, dejligt!

Peter Schepelern

5

Rejsen fra København til Fårø er rammen. Rømer har båndoptageren med og fortæller mig alt det, jeg jeg i forvejen ved fra filmene og bøgerne, så charmerende ivrig optaget, at det bliver så nyt for mig som første gang for mange år siden. Bergman og musikken er rejsen mod Bergman, som hun nu vil lære at kende ved musikken, som er det hun kender så godt. Bergmans tidlige film Musik i mørket, 1947 hører bestemt ikke til mesterværkerne, den er ”fin og nydelig i tidens stil” siger Schepelern, mens jeg hører Erland van Kochs ”konventionelle filmmusik” og Chopins præludier, måske og Beethovens sonate med betegnelsen ”næsten som en fantasi”. Måneskinssonaten siger Tina Rømer…

INDHOLD

1) Rejsen til den fjerne svenske ø Fårö begynder, samtidig med at turen går tilbage til den første tid med klassisk musik. Film som Musik i mørke og Ved vejs ende er fulde af klassisk musik og på teatret kaster Bergman også sin kærlighed over musikken

2) Efter en dagsrejse når vi frem til Fårö, hvor Bergman træder i karakter som auteur. Bergman indspiller filmene Som i et spejl og Persona på Fårö – og han finder hjem på øen og i musikken af Bach.

3) Rejsen slutter ved Bergmans gravsted og hus ved stranden på Fårö, hvor Bergman dirigerer de sidste film uden at ryste på hånden. Med Fanny og Alexander får Bergman sit folkelige gennembrud, og musikken er der fortsat som en budbringer om en anden virkelighed.

Tilrettelæggelse: Tina Rømer (DR P2)

https://www.dr.dk/radio/p2/bergman-og-musikken/bergman-og-musikken-1