A richly textured essay film on landscape, art, history, life and loss, Patience (After Sebald) offers a unique exploration of the work of internationally acclaimed writer W.G. Sebald, tracking his most influential book, The Rings of Saturn. Grierson award winning filmmaker Grant Gee directs the first film about Sebald, with contributions from major writers, artists and film-makers including Tacita Dean, Robert Macfarlane, Sir Andrew Motion, Rick Moody, Iain Sinclair and Marina Warner, with a haunting soundtrack by acclaimed composer and sound artist The Caretaker, and narration by Jonathan Pryce.
Sebald, who was born in 1944, taught for much of his adult life in this country, mainly at the University of East Anglia, and was killed in a motor accident in 2001. The Rings of Saturn was first published in German in 1995, translated into English three years later and is an account of a walking tour of Suffolk, the people he meets, the places he visits, and the historical and literary reflections prompted by what he sees and senses, taking his mind around the world. Suffolk becomes a sort of palimpsest for his eloquent, precise, lugubrious, often drily witty meditations about war, death, destruction and decay, about memories and continuities and the feeling that nothing entirely disappears.
The Caretaker’s music in the film is deeply atmospheric, creating a haunting and introspective soundscape. It skillfully captures the contemplative and melancholic themes found in Sebald’s writing. The album’s unique approach to sound design immerses listeners in a dreamlike and introspective experience, making ‘Patience (After Sebald)’ a poignant journey into themes of memory, time, and the intricacies of the human psyche.
Drawing inspiration from Franz Schubert’s 1827 composition ‘Winterreise’, The Caretaker employs his signature perplexing processes. He transforms the source material, smudging and rubbing isolated fragments into a dust-caked haze of plangent keys, strangely resolved loops, and de-pitched vocals. The result is a haunting and atmospheric soundscape that mirrors the ethereal nature of Sebald’s literary world, with elements fading in and out, much like memories.
Screening as part of Woodbridge's Ambient Music Festival - more details about the festival here
If you have an Ambient Music Festival pass then you can purchase the cheaper ticket and show your pass at the cinema when arriving.
