Black Sun
Dir: Gary Tarn | UK | 2005 | 70 mins | Digibeta, BetaSP and DVD
BAFTA nominated for The Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film.
While living in New York, painter and filmmaker Hugues de Montalembert fell victim to a random attack causing him to be permanently blinded. Gradually, de Montalembert learned to come to terms with his loss of sight, and discovered a rare ability to create an internal visual world. He eventually started to travel again – alone – documenting his travels in a series of books. BLACK SUN deals with loss, perception, memory and faith. Combining de Montalembert’s audio narrative with stunning visuals, the film articulates the immediate and longer-term consequences of the attack as de Montalembert reflects on his perceptions of the world. Black Sun is a poetic cinematic meditation on an extraordinary life without vision.
Based on the best selling writing of Hugues de Montalembert, directed by acclaimed composer Gary Tarn and Executive Produced by Alfonso Cuarón , director of ‘Y tu mamá también’.
“…one of the most remarkable British films to appear for a long time. Scratch that: it’s one of the boldest, most beautiful and haunting films to have appeared from anywhere…An extraordinary evocation…more adventurous even than of the late Jarman…Exquisite, woozy colours ripple and refract, drift and fade… lush and subtly melancholic portraits of modern society that recall Chris Marker’s landmark Sans Soleil…‘Black Sun’ is a film about blindness that makes us see the world hungrily, deeply, anew.”
Daily Telegraph
“innovative work of art that provides all the facts and anecdotes of a conventional documentary, but which immerses them in a mesmeric ambience all of its own.”
Nicholas Barber, The Independent
“A work for all places and times, for anyone who seeks fully to live, to engage, it is indeed essential viewing.” *****
Gareth Evans, TIME OUT No 1 CRITIC’S CHOICE
“A compelling story, wise words and stunning visuals; a winning combination.” ******
Sarah Kent, TIME OUT
“Narrated with moving simplicity… exquisitely illustrated… challenges the subjective nature of reality and turns New York into a place that's at once terrifying and wondrous. Rarely have the concepts of identity, memory, faith and hope been explored with such poetic courage.” * * * *
David Parkinson, Empire
“You cannot fail to be profoundly moved… as the narrator’s painful, poignant story opens our eyes to a beautiful world we shamefully take for granted.” *****
Marie Findley, Hot Dog
"a poetic, sensitive and beautifully shot meditation on a triumphant life without vision"
Evening Standard
"A quietly impressive cinematic meditation… A valuable filmic essay."
Guardian
"Fascinating." - * * * *
Independent
"Gary Tarn's poetic documentary Black Sun marries glowing digital images… to de Montalembert's moving account" Metro
“An inspiring cinematic reflection on loss, the senses and our place in the visual world.”
kultureflash.net
“You cannot fail to be profoundly moved... as the narrator’s painful, poignant story opens our eyes to a beautiful world we shamefully take for granted. *****
Marie Findley, Hot Dog
“A sensual, innovative and ultimately inspirational work about the resilience of the artistic spirit, BLACK SUN pushes documentary convention to the point where it creates its own generic terrain.”
Toronto Star
“a hypnotic, Zen-like affirmation of life.”
NOW (Toronto Weekly)
“riveting and highly accomplished”
The Globe and Mail, Toronto
“Black Sun is an overwhelming yet graceful emotional and sensory experience”
Toronto Festival Daily
