Peter Strickland - exciting!

[alsoknownas]

I'm enjoying a bit of British director Peter Strickland. Proper outsider auteur type, making haunted dreamscapes out of bits and pieces of cinema's past. Bits of giallo in there, a bit of kitsch, a sprinkling of Hammer horror too.

His work is full of ideas, and makes me cackle in that deeply satisfying way that Chris Morris', for example, does (comparison ends there!). Even though there's a serious intent in his work, I don't think he'd mind that reaction at all.

None of his films have been perfect so far (the elegant and gripping The Duke of Burgundy comes closest in my opinion), and he still feels like he's finding his feet as a storyteller. I hope that a) he is supported to continue to do so (not a given in this bleeding country!), and that b) he manages to knock out a real cohesive classic. I think he's capable of it.

Highlights:

Katalin Varga (2009) - Exploiting his knowledge of the Hungarian-speaking regions of Romania, Strickland self-funded this ultra low-budget debut, reportedly pulling out wads of local currency as required from within his clothing to keep the show on the road. The result is a very worthwhile mum / son road movie that looks like it was made sometime in the early seventies.

Berberian Sound Studio (2012) - Toby Jones is the hapless English sound engineer summoned under confused pretences to provide foley for a giallo/horror film in a claustrophobic Italian sound studio. He's out of his depth culturally, professionally - psychologically!

The Duke of Burgundy (2014) - Gorgeous and transfixing dance around an academic's intense relationship with her student / 'maid'. A tale of topping from the bottom, and safe words ignored! Strickland's most cohesive work yet.

In Fabric (2018) - A knot of tales involving a red dress, whose spirit affects it's wearers. A little hit-and-miss for me, this one, but as always there are soaring ideas and transcendent moments. Made with a loving nod to seventies / eighties horror, and a fantastic eye for, what we call in my household, a fetish for the mundane!

Very much looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

 

[Reno]

So far I only really loved The Duke of Burgundy, the rest of his films I found more exciting in concept than in execution. I'm a big retro genre movie fan, I love the type of the films Strickland references so I should like his work more but most his films don't quite click for me. The Duke of Burgundy is wonderful though, the way it uses the conventions of 70s artsploitation erotica to comment on the compromises one makes in relationships is perceptive and very funny. It's anchored by a wonderfully wry performance by Sidse Babett Knudsen, an actor I can never get enough of.

I feel similar about Ben Wheatley, another British director who frequently references 60s/70s genre films and who so far has made only one film which really works for me (Kill List)

 

[alsoknownas]

So far I only really loved The Duke of Burgundy, the rest of his films I found more exciting in concept than in execution. I'm a big retro genre movie fan, I love the type of the films Strickland references so I should like his work more but most his films don't quite click for me. The Duke of Burgundy is wonderful though, the way it uses the conventions of 70s artsploitation erotica to comment on the compromises one makes in a relationships is perceptive and very funny. It's anchored by a wonderfully wry performance by Sidse Babett Knudsen, an actor I can never get enough of.

I know what you mean. Fortunately for me the balance tips just the other way. His storytelling is a bit convoluted, and the ideas sometimes outshine the craftsmanship, but I've been thoroughly won over by every outing so far (bar In Fabric). Perhaps having less of a reference genre attachment helps.

With regard to Wheatley, I'm still in catch-up mode. A Field In England is sitting waiting to be watched, so thanks for the nudge. I'll be sure to track down Kill List too on your recommendation. I've not heard it quite so highly praised before.

Also on my 'Strickland Fold Out' list is Fanny Lye Deliver'd (Thomas Clay), and I'm working my way through some of the films that apparently inspired him - Morgiana, Eugénie, The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, etc.

 

[alsoknownas]

He's one of those filmmakers where I find myself spinning the soundtracks. The flicks are just as audio driven as they are visual. He's been chatting about incorporating ASMR sounds into his work from before it was trendy. Collaborates at the pre-production stage with musicians, including luscious stuff from Stereolab, Broadcast and Cat’s Eyes. His films always sound wide and properly spooky.

 

[Orang Utan]

The soundtrack to In Fabric surpasses the quality of the actual film

 

[alsoknownas]

The soundtrack to In Fabric surpasses the quality of the actual film

I do agree with the statement .

 

[Fozzie Bear]

He has a record label: Peripheral Conserve

Includes my mate Kate’s record (Xylitol) which is very good. She was in one of his films as an extra too I think. Probably In Fabric.

 

[alsoknownas]

He has a record label: Peripheral Conserve

Includes my mate Kate’s record (Xylitol) which is very good. She was in one of his films as an extra too I think. Probably In Fabric.

He also plays in that there Sonic Catering Band. Though I know not what he plays.

In case you're wondering why they are so named:

The Sonic Catering Band is named as such to save us the tedium of having to
describe what we sound like, what we are about or any of that bullshit.

 

[alsoknownas]

Mr Strickland has just wrapped filming 5th feature 'Flux Gourmet'.

"The film is set at an institute devoted to culinary and alimentary performance, a collective finds themselves embroiled in power struggles, artistic vendettas and gastrointestinal disorders."

 

[Orang Utan]

he also made a short recently called Cold Meridian - strange ASMR type stuff and some dance. didn’t make much of an impression on me i have to say as that’s all i recall. think it was on Mubi

 

[Johnny Vodka]

I really like his middle two films. Haven't seen the others.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

I saw the play of the Berberian Sound Studio. Can't really compare it to the film but it showed what a rich seam the story is. The live sound processing was more powerful than the film.

 

[alsoknownas]

I saw the play of the Berberian Sound Studio. Can't really compare it to the film but it showed what a rich seam the story is. The live sound processing was more powerful than the film.

I didn't know about this. Looks fab.

 

[stdP]

I've been a fan of Strickland ever since Berberian Sound Studio; I'd heard of it since it looked like it would be the last work of Trish Keenan from my beloved Broadcast (plus it had Toby Jones in it). Whilst I can understand the views above where people says his films' auditory reach exceeds their cinematic grasp, I can't support that view myself. Sure, his films wouldn't be half of what they were without their music and sound direction... but I don't think there's anyone else on the "mainstream auteur" spectrum that makes films anything quite like him cinematically either. Outwardly blackly comedic, inwardly deeply fetishistic, it's a mindset I've seldom seen expressed so well directorially.

Nerd alert I know, but he gives some excellent commentary on the DVDs as well if you're in to that sort of thing.

"The film is set at an institute devoted to culinary and alimentary performance, a collective finds themselves embroiled in power struggles, artistic vendettas and gastrointestinal disorders."

Every time I've read a Strickland plot summary, it's always been as improbably impossible as this that defies a response. Hopefully it'll be more of what I love about him

 

[alsoknownas]

Nerd alert I know, but he gives some excellent commentary on the DVDs as well if you're in to that sort of thing.

Great tip. I'll seek these out.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

Mr Strickland has just wrapped filming 5th feature 'Flux Gourmet'.

"The film is set at an institute devoted to culinary and alimentary performance, a collective finds themselves embroiled in power struggles, artistic vendettas and gastrointestinal disorders."

Sounds nuts

 

[alsoknownas]

Sounds nuts

Alimentary pun intended?

 

[Reno]

I watched Censor the other night, which is as Wannabe-Strickland as it gets. In terms of style this is strongly reminiscent of Berberian Sound Studio. It starts out strong and its premise of a horror film dealing with a BBFC censor during the video nasty era of the 80s is solid. Unfortunately it soon goes off the rails. I didn't believe the conversations the staff at the BBFC are having and ultimately the film doesn't have much to say about horror or censorship and instead goes for a chaotic last act, delving into the lead character's

Spoiler

deranged mind

for some predictable plot twists. Maybe fans or Berberian Sound Studio and In Fabric will like this better than I did.

 

[alsoknownas]

I watched Censor the other night, which is as Wannabe-Strickland as it gets. In terms of style this is strongly reminiscent of Berberian Sound Studio. It starts out strong and its premise of a horror film dealing with a BBFC censor during the video nasty era of the 80s is solid. Unfortunately it soon goes of the rails. I didn't believe the conversations the staff at the BBFC are having and ultimately the film doesn't have much to say about horror or censorship and instead goes for a chaotic last act, delving into the lead character's

Spoiler

deranged mind

for some predictable plot twists. Maybe fans or Berberian Sound Studio and In Fabric will like this better than I did.

View attachment 278577

Prano (Bailey-Bond, director) is actually a mate of mine, and a brilliant person. Funny enough I was going to flag this up on this very thread because I've been making the same connections between her work and his. Looking forward to seeing it sometime soon.