Standalone release of Alva Noto’s score to This Stolen Country of Mine, Marc Wiese‘s award-winning film which explores the issue of state sovereignty in the face of predatory foreign power.
A hyper-timbral rattle of electronic bones and noise-rush
Standalone release of Alva Noto’s score to This Stolen Country of Mine, Marc Wiese‘s award-winning film which explores the issue of state sovereignty in the face of predatory foreign power. The eponymous country, Ecuador, is strong in resources and pristine nature but weak in leadership, prey to China in its neo-colonialist manoeuvrings. The focus is the indigenous resistance, led by Paul Jarrin, and opponents, such as journalist Fernando Villavicencio (R.I.P.), of the corrupt sell-off of swathes of its resources to Chinese investors. Here, though, the soundtrack’s the thing.
The signature Alva Noto tropes–solemn drones ✓, sub-bass lower ✓, glassine upper ✓—effectively parallel the film’s trajectory, involving us in the narrative, shifting subtly from directive to suggestive, shadowing the struggle, from dark of despond to the glimmers of hope born of communal striving. Opening with “Ritual”’s ambient orchestralism (cf. Xerrox series), “Confrontation 1” then brings on the Full Monty of echoic glitch’n’rumble low-end throb complete with neo-industrial feedback. Scene shift to village brings a change of tenor—reduced insectoid drone, breathy fluting, pebble-dash gurgle. “Sarayaku Hidding” ushers in more acoustic elements—fragile bowed and plucked strings folded into the usual fizz/buzz, spatial pianisms taking a thematic lead with white noise+glitch backdrop for Nicolai’s ominous Sakamoto-isms (cf. The Revenant). On “Demonstration” tension mounts via synthetic chorals, hollow thuds and more cinematic string-y things. The further it goes, the more abstract it gets: “Sicario”—a mess of radio static and low-end thump; “Storming Camp”—a narcotic nightmare with angst-y synth buzz and ominous orchestrals; “Legal Process”—a hyper-timbral rattle of electronic bones and noise-rush. After dark “Ritual Reprise” brings back the light, hints of hope ahead with its reversed piano flutter and celestial woodwind blast.
The film’s focus on life in a mountain village might’ve prompted a lesser soundtracker to raid the indigenous folk culture larder for cheap cuts to elicit [e/a]ffect, but any urge towards such facile exploitation is eschewed, as Carsten Nicolai cleaves to his Alva Noto go-to. And you know. It works. Like a dream.
This Stolen Country of Mine is available on NOTON. [Site]
THIS STOLEN COUNTRY OF MINE (Official Trailer) from MAGNETFILM on Vimeo.
