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The Swell Season (film)

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Wikipedia article




'The Swell Season' is a 2011 American documentary film directed by Nick August-Perna, Chris Dapkins and Carlo Mirabella-Davis.

Synopsis



After the success of the Irish movie 'Once' and an Academy Award win, duo Glen Hansard and Markta Irglov became known all around the world. While Hansard has already been touring for many years, this experience is new to Irglov. She doesn't feel like a prominent person and does feel uncomfortable with all the media attention. Their personal relationship is threatened to fall apart under these often unmanageable circumstances and dynamics.

Background



When the band The Swell Season went on tour, after the success of the movie 'Once', Hansard asked his film teacher Carlo Mirabella-Davis to document the tour. The documentary was filmed between 2007 and 2010 by Mirabella-Davis and his co-directors Chris Dapkins and Nick August-Perna. Originally, the documentary should have become a classic music documentary. That changed, however, when the directors shot at Hansard's parents house. The film now became more of a documentary documenting the "burden of dreams and the gradual dissolution or transformation of a romantic relationship". During the shooting the relationship of Hansard and Irglova broke apart. The film was shot in black and white and shows the protagonists Glen Hansard and Markta Irglov on their tour and at home. It was cut from over 200 hours of film footage.

Reception



Box office

'The Swell Season' was first shown in 2011 at the Tribeca Film Festival. Several international broadcast followed. In 2012 it was published on DVD in America, in 2014 followed the British release. Furthermore, the movie was published in Germany, Spain, Austria (StudioCanal), Switzerland, Australia (Icon), Korea (Jin Jin) and Canada (Mongrel).

Critical response

Kevin Huber of 'Filmstarts' believes that the film is interesting and worth watching for viewers who know the movie 'Once'. According to him the film would be excellent as bonus material for the 'Once' DVD, but he is not sure if it works out as an independent documentary about Am. Lisa Kennedy of 'The Denver Post', believes that the creators of the film assumed that the audience would know 'Once'. The perfect audience knows the film 'Once' and is fascinated by Markta Irglov's acceptance speech.

Carsten Knox of 'The Coast' says the film is indispensable for fans of the music, as well as offering an amazingly intimate insight into the consequences of unexpected celebrity.

Sasha Stone of 'Awards Daily' believes that 'The Swell Season' is an outstanding film that deserves an Oscar nomination.

'The Stanford Daily' describes the film as a "painfully honest love story set in an extraordinary musical context.". Brian Tucker from 'Star News Online' also believes 'The Swell Season' is one of the better documentaries because it is so open and honest. It shows the love and the pressure to succeed after years of work.

References






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