Until the Light Takes Us
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Until the Light Takes Us |
| Original title | Until the Light Takes Us |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2008 |
| length | 93 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 18 |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Aaron Aites Audrey Ewell |
| production | Aaron Aites Audrey Ewell |
| camera | Audrey Ewell Odd Reinhardt Nicolaysen |
| cut | Andrew Ford |
| occupation | |
Until the Light Takes Us is an American documentary film from 2008 that focuses on the events surrounding the black metal scene in Norway in the early 1990s. It was shot by Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell and consists of original sounds from the musicians involved.
content
Until the Light Takes Us begins with a train ride from Fenriz ( Darkthrone ) to Stockholm , where he later visits an exhibition by the artist Bjarne Melgaard at the Lars Bohlman Gallery. On the way he is checked by customs because he has tear gas with him. Next up is Trondheim's maximum security prison . Varg Vikernes ( Burzum ) is interviewed in his cell there. First, the recordings for the albums A Blaze in the Northern Sky and Burzum will be discussed , with Fenriz and Vikernes being cut back and forth.
The interviews then begin to tell the story of the black metal scene from the point of view of Varg Vikernes and Fenriz. In between there are also statements by Jan Axel Blomberg ( Mayhem ), Kristoffer Rygg ( Ulver ), as well as Olve "Abbath" Eikemo and Harald "Demonaz" Nævdal ( Immortal ). Bård G. Eithun (ex- Emperor ) appears only darkened and with a distorted voice. The documentary initially focuses on the early stages from Mayhem to the death of Per Yngve Ohlin , known as Dead. This is followed by recordings of Fenriz in the metal bar “Elm Street” in Oslo and a visit to an exhibition by the artist Bjarne Melgaard, who used the black metal scene as the basis for a series of pictures and sculptures. He sees a connection between the black metal scene and Edvard Munch's painting The Scream . In addition to Fenriz's visit to the exhibition, a performance by the artist Harmony Korine will also be shown in an art studio.
The arson attacks on various churches in Norway and the murder of Bård G. Eithun of a homosexual man in Lillehammer in 1992 are then discussed. The interviews are accompanied by video recordings of the firefighting work on the churches, newspaper clippings and flyers. This is followed by a description of the murder of Øystein Aarseth from the point of view of the perpetrator Varg Vikernes. This depicts the murder as self-defense . Newspaper clippings and the announcement of the verdict are also shown. Fenriz then gives a telephone interview to Diana Glöckner from the German music magazine Legacy in the office of Moonfog Productions .
The film ends with a bloody show by Kjetil-Vidar "Frost" Haraldstad ( Satyricon ) in the Galleria Laura Pecci in Milan. Haraldstad spits fire and stabs a couch. Then he hurts himself and fakes his death. An interview by Vikernes about the Christianization of Norway and Fenriz 'view of the modern black metal scene are the last interviews.
background
The idea came to the two filmmakers Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell when they were playing various black metal albums from a friend who owns the record company Aquarius Records and they discovered something new for them in music. After they had familiarized themselves with the scene, the desire grew in them to make a film about it. The two moved to Norway for two years to prepare the documentary and slowly get to grips with the protagonists of the film.
In terms of recording technology, the film was adapted to the aesthetics of the time. It contains numerous coarse-grained recordings, shaky handheld cameras and backdrops, such as winter landscapes or recordings of the crumbling basement of the Oslo record store Helvete, which are based on the artistic design of the album covers and the promo photos of the protagonists. In addition, a number of original recordings, archive material and newspaper clippings were used. The film's soundtrack is composed of pieces by the original musicians as well as electronic music from múm and Boards of Canada . The statements of the people are left in the original tone and are not commented on.
The title of the film is based on the Norwegian title of the Burzum album Hvis lyset tar oss (Eng. "When the light takes us").
publication
The cinema rights in the United States were secured by the production company Variance Films, which presented the film on November 20, 2009 in New York City and on December 11, 2009 in Los Angeles . It started in theaters on December 4, 2009. The film started with an unrated release by the MPAA in only a few theaters and grossed a total of 130,000 US dollars.
The film was screened for the first time in Europe at the 32nd Gothenburg International Film Festival. The film premiered in Germany at the Wacken Open Air 2010, and it was released across Germany on August 12, 2010, primarily in art house cinemas . The film received an FSK-18 rating and was released on DVD on November 12, 2010 via Rapid Eye Movies.
criticism
The film is purely representative and staged without any judgmental aspects. The film received negative criticism in some media because the statements made by the musicians in the film are not commented on. Vikernes' view of the murder of Aarseth was just as little commented on as Blomberg's expression of respect for Eithun's committed murder. At the same time, Vikernes' later racist statements and conspiracy theories, as well as his attempted breakout in 2003, are not mentioned. In addition, the film does not even try to question the background to the deeds at that time, but one has the feeling that the makers of the film "enjoyed too much closeness, developed too much sympathy".
"An ambitious project that does not know exactly where it is going and relies too much on striking aspects, while it fails to provide the new knowledge that was hoped for."
“It is a successful pop cultural art project that makes use of the documentary film. For example, he cleverly brings symbolic images of the indifferent middle-class society and the angry subculture into position against each other, thus creating a high atmospheric density, developing strong suggestive power - but reveals every educational claim. "
The atmosphere of the film and the interesting story that the film would tell were praised.
“The result is an atmospheric portrait of the participating artists, which gives a neutral insight into a legendary section of music history - even if UNTIL THE LIGHT TAKES US cannot deny that it was made by two Americans who don't listen to Black Metal, but each other according to their own statement, would have worked intensively on the topic. "
Web links
- Until the Light Takes Us in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official MySpace presence
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b press booklet (English). (PDF; 643 kB) (No longer available online.) Variance Films, archived from the original on July 17, 2011 ; Retrieved October 6, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Synopsis. (No longer available online.) Official website, archived from the original on May 27, 2010 ; Retrieved October 5, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b Review. Movienerd.de, accessed on October 5, 2010 .
- ↑ Box office charts. Box Office Mojo, accessed October 6, 2010 .
- ↑ a b Review. (No longer available online.) Metal Hammer , archived from the original on March 23, 2010 ; Retrieved October 5, 2010 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Movie Night: Until the Light Takes Us. on: wacken.com , May 20, 2010.
- ↑ a b Harald Peters: Black Metal Scene - "until the light takes us". Welt online , August 10, 2010, accessed October 6, 2010 .
- ↑ Overview. Online film database , accessed October 6, 2010 .
- ↑ a b Review. The manifesto, accessed October 5, 2010 .
- ↑ a b c Thorsten Dörting: There is a magic inherent in every death. Spiegel Online , August 16, 2010, accessed October 5, 2010 .
