In 1964, the Moog became the first commercial synthesizer ever sold. Sixty years later, the marriage of synthesizers and cinema has woven a rich tapestry of filmic possibilities. In particular, synths have become the soulmate of genre and surrealist cinema. While most cinephiles are familiar with the unmistakable stylings of John Carpenter and Wendy Carlos, there exists an endless well of lesser-known film composers who have used synthesizers to great effect.
This April, we’ve brought together underscreened gems with otherworldly atmospheres that are heightened by their synthesizer scores; from the absurdist black comedy of THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, to the potently restrained sounds of VIGIL, to the dreadful dissonance of SPIRITS OF THE AIR, GREMLINS OF THE CLOUDS, to the glittering melodies of DEAD MOUNTAINEER’S HOTEL, returning to Spectacle after twelve years. Come to your favorite collectively run cinema to bathe in sensory delights!
Join us for a Q&A with TWENTIETH CENTURY director Matthew Rankin in person on Friday, April 19th at 7:30 pm.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY
Dir. Matthew Rankin, 2019.
Canada. 90 min.
In English and French.
TUESDAY, APRIL 2 – 10 PM [ TICKETS ]
SATURDAY, APRIL 13 – MIDNIGHT [ TICKETS ]
FRIDAY, APRIL 19 – 7:30 PM, w/ Filmmaker Q&A, this event is $10 [ Q&A TICKETS ]
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 24 – 10 PM [ TICKETS ]
In 2019, singular Canadian filmmaker, animator, and documentarian Matthew Rankin unleashed his first feature in the form of a surrealist satirical fever dream depicting the rise of Canada’s longest-serving— and perhaps loneliest— Prime Minister, William Lyon Mackenzie King. Viewers follow King through his trials and tribulations as he strives to become the man his mother has been grooming him to be since birth: preserver of the National Disappointment. THE TWENTIETH CENTURY takes extensive liberties in its dramatization of real historical figures and events while nailing prevailing notions that Canadianness is synonymous with earnestness, shame, and passive aggression.
From beginning to end, it is a maximalist work of art set against gorgeous German Expressionist backdrops which create intentional artificiality, suggesting that the concept of Canada may, in itself, be fake. Highlighting its hyper-stylization is a score that vacillates between synthwave and patriotic fanfare by composers Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux and Peter Venne. Come to the Burning S for a viewing experience unlike any other (and to support the ongoing efforts to increase appreciation for Canadian culture in Williamsburg, Brooklyn).
Preceded by:
THE TESLA WORLD LIGHT
dir. Matthew Rankin, 2017
Canada. 8 mins.
In English.
DEAD MOUNTAINEER’S HOTEL
(HUKKUNUD ALPINISTI HOTELL)
Dir. Grigori Kromanov, 1979.
Estonia. 84 min.
In Estonian with English subtitles.
SATURDAY, APRIL 6 – MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 17 – 10 PM
SUNDAY, APRIL 21 – 7:30 PM
THURSDAY, APRIL 25 – 7:30 PM
[ TICKETS ]
Returning to Spectacle after 12 years, DEAD MOUNTAINEER’S HOTEL is a sleek blend of thriller, noir, and science fiction based on the Strugatsky brothers’ novel of the same name. Opening with a winding upward mountain drive, we meet Inspector Peter Glebsky en route to respond to an anonymous tip at an isolated hotel in the Alps. Though all seems well upon arrival, he opts to stay the night and finds himself trapped by an avalanche with his bizarre fellow guests. It soon becomes clear that everything is not as it seems.
The hotel itself is a marvel of modern architecture in black and neon set sharply against bright, pristine snow, while its interior brings to mind the unforgettable and deeply ’70s mise-en-scene of cult classics like MESSIAH OF EVIL. The score by pioneering Estonian synth programmer and prog rocker Sven Grünberg, composed on an EMS Synthi 100, is an ethereal auditory dreamscape.
Special thanks to the Estonian Film Institute.
VIGIL
Dir. Vincent Ward, 1984.
New Zealand. 90 min.
In English.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 3 – 10 PM
FRIDAY, APRIL 12 – MIDNIGHT
TUESDAY, APRIL 23 – 10 PM
MONDAY, APRIL 29 – 7:30 PM
[ TICKETS ]
The first New Zealand film ever to compete in Cannes, VIGIL is an unsettling, atmospheric drama about an eleven-year-old girl named Toss who witnesses the falling death of her father while out herding sheep on their remote farm. The only other witness is a mysterious hunter, Ethan, who carries her father’s body back home. Shortly afterward, Ethan begins working on the farm with Toss’s grandfather, Birdie. As Ethan’s relationship with her mother becomes sexually charged, Toss’s distrust toward him increases in complexity. We see the world through the eyes of a girl on the precipice of teenagehood as she experiences change, loss, and the invasion of her small, isolated world. Breathtaking imagery and unorthodox framing are complimented by composer Jack Body’s score, which combines synthesizers with string instruments to build a restrained soundscape that pierces the film’s potent, unreleased tension. This arthouse coming-of-age story, wearing the clothes of folk horror, is an indispensable contribution to the misty sheepcore canon.
SPIRITS OF THE AIR, GREMLINS OF THE CLOUDS
Dir. Alex Proyas, 1987.
Australia. 93 min.
In English.
FRIDAY, APRIL 5 – MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10 – 10 PM
SUNDAY, APRIL 14 – 7:30 PM
THURSDAY, APRIL 18 – 7:30 PM
[ TICKETS ]
Alex Proyas’s first feature is a striking, surreal, and meditative post-apocalyptic sci-fi set in the Australian outback. The film follows Felix and Betty, two ultra-religious siblings, who have lived their lives in complete isolation until the arrival of Smith, a mysterious wanderer who is attempting to elude vague malicious pursers. Smith and Felix form an unlikely friendship as Felix’s hyperfixation proves to be Smith’s only route to salvation: building a flying machine. Meanwhile, Betty acquires a hyperfixation of her own through her obsessive distrust of Smith.
SPIRITS OF THE AIR, GREMLINS OF THE CLOUDS is a low-budget audiovisual tour-de-force. The film’s quirkiness and borderline steampunk aesthetics walk a fine line that never crosses over from inventiveness into cringe. While synthesizers typically bring to mind tight, catchy electronic melodies, they are, at their core, experimental instruments of infinite possibilities; composer Peter Miller expertly captures the film’s arid isolation with his lingering, dissonant score. If you’ve ever longed to watch a version of MAD MAX that was inspired by Tarkovsky, this is the film for you.