In 2016 a fishing boat off the Icelandic coast hauled up four reels of Derevensky detektiv ('The Village Detective'), a Soviet-era film starring the well-known Russian actor Mikhail Zharov. The discovery led filmmaker Bill Morrison (Dawson City: Frozen Time) on a fascinating cinematic odyssey.
The decayed footage is woven together with clips from Zharov’s lengthy filmography, and an entrancing score by David Lang, to tell the story of its star - and of Soviet cinema itself.
Morrison creates a unique and mesmerising document, reflecting how life, history, and art intersect and endure forever on film.
Presented from the new director-approved 4K transfer, our region-free Blu-ray features an exclusive, newly filmed interview with filmmaker Bill Morrison, a selection of his earlier short film works including Beyond Zero: 1914-1918 (2014) and The Unchanging Sea (2018), plus a booklet with new writing by film historian Peter Walsh.
