‘A Piece of Sky’ Review: Things Fall Apart as a Choir Sings in an Impressive, Austere Alpine Tragedy
The hills are indeed alive with the sound of music in Swiss filmmaker Michael Koch’s intimate Alpine epic “A Piece of Sky,” but if you go in expecting twirling frolics, expect to be harshly disappointed. Acting as a kind of distinctly non-Greek chorus, a full Helvetian choir pops up between the acts of this small-scale domestic tragedy, their solemn folk songs lending a mournful running commentary to this story of a mountain family undone by medical misfortune and psychological upheaval. It’s a quasi-absurdist flourish in an otherwise austere slab of rural realism — cast with non-professional locals — and emblematic of the arresting formal grandeur that Koch brings to ostensibly modest material.
That combination of downbeat storytelling and rigorously mannered styling makes “A Piece of Sky” a challenging proposition for arthouse distributors, though a special mention from this year’s Berlinale Competition jury is indicative of the rarefied but rapt following it ought to find.
That combination of downbeat storytelling and rigorously mannered styling makes “A Piece of Sky” a challenging proposition for arthouse distributors, though a special mention from this year’s Berlinale Competition jury is indicative of the rarefied but rapt following it ought to find.
- 2/23/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
Switzerland, thanks to its prolific co-production activity, has a hand in a record-breaking 11 titles in the Berlinale’s official selection, including two films competing for the Golden Bear, and two more in Berlin’s cutting-edge Encounters section, as well as a Swiss talent selected for the fest’s Shooting Stars event, Souheila Yacoub.
Ursula Meier’s “The Line” (competition) — Following “Home” and “Sister,” Meier continues to pursue “this idea of family that is as much necessary, as it is toxic,” says the film’s producer Pauline Gygax. After a violent argument with her mother, Margaret, 35 (Stephanie Blanchoud), who has a long history of inflicting and suffering from violence, is subjected to a restraining order. She is not allowed to make contact with her mother (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) or come within 100 meters of the family home. But the separation exacerbates her desire to be closer to her family, so she returns...
Ursula Meier’s “The Line” (competition) — Following “Home” and “Sister,” Meier continues to pursue “this idea of family that is as much necessary, as it is toxic,” says the film’s producer Pauline Gygax. After a violent argument with her mother, Margaret, 35 (Stephanie Blanchoud), who has a long history of inflicting and suffering from violence, is subjected to a restraining order. She is not allowed to make contact with her mother (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) or come within 100 meters of the family home. But the separation exacerbates her desire to be closer to her family, so she returns...
- 2/11/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Lost In France and The Maurons at the O2 ABC Photo: Neil Thomas Douglas
Tuesday at the Glasgow Film Festival was an opportunity to catch up on some of the great films shown over the past week, and to enjoy some classic slices of cinema, including Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, one of several of his collaborations with Toshirô Mifune being shown this year. There was also a potent portrait of modern Japanese life in the form of troubling family drama Harmonium, winner of last year’s Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes, which attendees described as depressing and fascinating in equal measure, and which is part of an evolving trend in Japanese cinema focused on exploring the role of women, which critically acclaimed works like Creepy and Happy Hour have also contributed to.
Michael Koch Photo: Alyn J Smith
The evening saw two very different stories about refugees:...
Tuesday at the Glasgow Film Festival was an opportunity to catch up on some of the great films shown over the past week, and to enjoy some classic slices of cinema, including Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, one of several of his collaborations with Toshirô Mifune being shown this year. There was also a potent portrait of modern Japanese life in the form of troubling family drama Harmonium, winner of last year’s Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes, which attendees described as depressing and fascinating in equal measure, and which is part of an evolving trend in Japanese cinema focused on exploring the role of women, which critically acclaimed works like Creepy and Happy Hour have also contributed to.
Michael Koch Photo: Alyn J Smith
The evening saw two very different stories about refugees:...
- 2/23/2017
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The distribution landscape continues to evolve, with a healthy mixture of new players and stalwarts, and yet every year there are great movies that slip through the cracks. For the most part, movies that gain serious traction on the festival circuit find their way to various American buyers and usually wind up with some kind of home.
While ambitious newcomers like A24 and Amazon Studios continue to up their game while veterans such as Sony Pictures Classics keep rolling along, even they have limits to the kind of content they can gamble on.
Read More: The 25 Best Movie Moments of 2016, According to IndieWire Critic David Ehrlich
Usually, the movies that struggle to find homes aren’t ignored so much as they’re deemed non-commercial or risky. Distributors often shy away from the prospects of a “difficult” movie simply because they can’t imagine a trailer for it, or because it...
While ambitious newcomers like A24 and Amazon Studios continue to up their game while veterans such as Sony Pictures Classics keep rolling along, even they have limits to the kind of content they can gamble on.
Read More: The 25 Best Movie Moments of 2016, According to IndieWire Critic David Ehrlich
Usually, the movies that struggle to find homes aren’t ignored so much as they’re deemed non-commercial or risky. Distributors often shy away from the prospects of a “difficult” movie simply because they can’t imagine a trailer for it, or because it...
- 12/7/2016
- by David Ehrlich and Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Next month’s Toronto International Film Festival has nearly completed its lineup announcements, and each one is more impressive than the last. Today’s Tiff picks feature a number of slate additions for sections as varied as the forward-focused Discovery, their burgeoning Pop Vr section and even a handful of last minute additions to the Tiff Docs list. New titles of note that have just been announced include the Cannes hit “The Red Turtle,” Wayne Roberts’ “Katie Says Goodbye” and the well-regarded “Sand Storm,” all of which will screen as part of Discovery.
Read More: Tiff Lineup: 5 Reasons to Get Excited About the 2016 Program
Both the Next Wave and Tiff Kids section pull titles from other, previously announced sections to create an appealing lineup for the next generation of cinephiles. Standout titles include “Moonlight,” “My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea” and “The Eagle Huntress.”
Additionally, the festival has...
Read More: Tiff Lineup: 5 Reasons to Get Excited About the 2016 Program
Both the Next Wave and Tiff Kids section pull titles from other, previously announced sections to create an appealing lineup for the next generation of cinephiles. Standout titles include “Moonlight,” “My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea” and “The Eagle Huntress.”
Additionally, the festival has...
- 8/23/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
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