Some of you might remember an entry I posted back in the comparatively balmy, carefree and gainfully employed days of 2012, wherein I expounded on a film that storied NYC punk scribe Legs McNeil had unearthed and posted on his Facebook page, that being Chantal Ackerman’s “News From Home.”
Smitten by this amazing document, I ,of course, re-posted the film here on Flaming Pablum. As is so often the case, however, the film vanished from YouTube almost as soon as I’d put it up. C’est la guerre.
Well, a newer, cleaner, crisper version of the film has re-surfaced, and the amazing Dangerous Minds blog found it and put up their own post about it. You can read that here. For my purposes, however, herewith what I wrote in my original post about, along with the the restored film.
It’s well worth your time….
I just spotted this on Legs McNeil's Facebook page and was blown away. This is a 1976 film by Belgian director Chantal Akerman called "News From Home." Because I know precious little about it, I'm going to let Criterion describe it:
Letters from Chantal Akerman’s mother are read over a series of elegantly composed shots of 1976 New York, where our (unseen) filmmaker and protagonist has relocated. Akerman’s unforgettable time capsule of the city is also a gorgeous meditation on urban alienation and personal and familial disconnection.
I'd love to see someone do a shot-for-shot remake and compare and contrast. Enjoy.
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