Eva la Cour
Denmark | 2012 | 37 min
World premiere
Languages : Danish, English, Norwegian
Subtitle : English
The Svalbard Islands. Tourists from all over the world come here to savour something of the Nordic spirit. Eva La Cour proposes a “tour” of this exotic microcosm, with the accent less on what you can see than on what you can hear. A postmodern film about disorientation, the relationship between the real and the virtual, true experience and tourism.
The Svalbard Islands form an archipelago at the point where the Atlantic and Arctic oceans meet. Tourists from all over the world come here to savour something of the Nordic spirit, and maybe see polar bears. Eva La Cour proposes a “tour” of this exotic microcosm, with the accent less on what you see than on what you hear. Based on the sound editing of three different visits made by taxi, The Tour examines not the idea of landscape and reality, but the way they are represented. Or rather, the film seeks to probe the relationship between images and the way they are perceived. Postcards and advertisements alternate with notes on the island’s history in a narrative that tackles the issue of disorientation. In contrast with this virtual, imaginary view of the Arctic, the experiences of the three taxi drivers (one Russian, one Danish, one Norwegian) stand out, in all their diversity of perspective, as the true reality captured by the film.
Carlo Chatrian
Translation BMP Translations