Bill Morrison
The Village Detective: A Song Cycle
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Add rightsFormat Blu-ray Interzone
Original format 35mm
Year 2014-2021
Language(s) Russian, English
Artist(s) Bill Morrison
Subtitles English
Running time 193 min
Films
THE VILLAGE DETECTIVE (2021) 81'
BEYOND ZERO: 1914-1918 (2014) 41'
THE UNCHANGING SEA (2018) 30'
SUNKEN FILMS (2020) 11'
LET ME COME IN (2021) 11'
Description
In 2016, a fishing boat off the coast of Iceland hauled up four reels of Derevensky detektiv ("The Village Detective"), a Soviet-era film starring the famous Russian actor Mikhail Zharov. This discovery led filmmaker Bill Morrison on a fascinating cinematic odyssey. The damaged footage is intertwined with scenes from Zharov's extensive filmography, accompanied by a haunting musical score by David Lang, to tell the story of this star—and, through it, that of Soviet cinema as a whole.
Morrison delivers a unique and hypnotic document that reflects the way life, history, and art intertwine and endure forever on film.