The film opens with the sound of an orchestra playing for a ballet in St. Petersburg; the viewer is then taken for a stroll through parts of the city, guided by the drifting rhythm of the autumn leaves. This is a montage film; footage from winter 2007 is edited together with footage from autumn 2008, when navigation was still possible along the Neva river and along the canals of the city. Images of the orchestra, shot on the fly as the musicians tune up, are accompanied by the voice of a tour guide, which gradually takes over the soundtrack. The music of the guide's voice combines with the instrumental chords of the orchestra to produce a form of static interference, which obliges the viewer to pay close attention to the intrusion of divers incongruities.
Reminiscences of a glorious past, as recounted by the guide's voice (which progressively contaminates the image), the feverish activity of the city acts as a counterpart to the wanderings of the protagonist. The film unfolds according to a methodology which prioritizes means of transport, in a similar style to that used by cellphone film-makers. It is indeed a travelogue, but could be more precisely defined as a film about transportation. The various different locations of the film take on a different signification when revisited by road or by river. Dead leaves, like snow or old paintings, are scooped up by the shovelful, while the dogs of the city chase after them. The film combines a variety of different shots into a mosaic which accentuates both the plasticity of the imagery and the fluctuating density of its colour scheme. Peter and Paul can thus be understood as the result of a fortuitous encounter between a bear and the Marinjsky theatre.
1 PRINT IN DISTRIBUTION
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distribution format |
Digital file on server (PAL) |
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screen |
4/3 (single screen) |
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speed |
25 fps |
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sound |
sound |
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rental fee |
36,00 € |
