Latest news with #TheExtraordinaryMissFlower
Time Out
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
The Extraordinary Miss Flower
Performance films are not for everyone. Whether they capture contemporary productions, or repackage archive material in a new way, audiences usually gravitate towards them when the subject is an artist they already admire. But there's no need to be a fan of Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana Torrini – arguably best known for 'Gollum's Song' from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers – to enjoy The Extraordinary Miss Flower. Artists and filmmakers Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard won awards and accolades for their inspired and unconventional 2014 film about Nick Cave, 20,000 Days on Earth, followed by the equally vivid Who is Gil Scott-Heron? (2015). With their new film, unshackled from the tropes of musical biography, their creative freedom is able to truly take flight, resulting in a delight for the senses that is both deeply intimate and thrillingly cinematic. The film takes its inspiration from the suite of songs on Torrini's 2024 album Miss Flower, inspired in turn by a collection of passionate and romantic love letters sent to a friend's mother, Geraldine Flower, in the 1960s and 1970s, and discovered after her death. For the film, Forsyth and Pollard combine Torrini's performances of the songs – seductively sung directly to camera for maximum intimacy – with multimedia images, selective readings from the letters, and a playful portrayal of Flower herself by actress Caroline Catz. Thousands of words become a deeply moving picture In less capable hands, such ripe ingredients could easily turned into a hot mess, but from the opening moments it is clear that The Extraordinary Miss Flower is the work of two artists utterly in command of their vision, and fully trusted and embraced by their collaborators. What ultimately coalesces from this collection of disparate elements is more the sum of its parts. For not only does The Extraordinary Miss Flower conjure the mysterious lost loves of an elusive woman – as delightful as her interpretation of Miss Flower may be, Catz is used sparingly so as not to overshadow or demystify the original – it evokes a pre-digital age when, even if long-distance telephone calls were not prohibitively expensive, a letter was often the best way to express one's erotic desires and romantic yearnings. 'Letters open people up like nothing else really does,' Torrini explains, and the film proves her point admirably. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Forsyth and Pollard have turned thousands of words into a deeply moving picture.
The Guardian
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
The Extraordinary Miss Flower review – secret life exposed through treasure trove of love letters
You'd be forgiven for not having heard of Geraldine Flower, the subject of A new film from artists Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, the pair behind the 2014 Nick Cave documentary 20,000 Days on Earth. (Cave makes an appearance here reading a letter or two.) Flower was not famous in her lifetime and in fact, after watching the film we're none the wiser about how she spent her later years. But when she died in 2019, a suitcase packed with hundreds of love letters written to her by smitten men in the 60s and 70s was found in her London flat. The letters inspired a 2024 album by Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana Torrini (called Miss Flower) and also this intriguing, gorgeous and creative documentary – a film somewhere between an installation with songs and an extended music promo. It features Torrini and her band performing songs from the album, some dramatised scenes (actor Caroline Catz plays Flower), plus a bit of modern dance. This description makes it sound like art school navel gazing, but while it can be mildly frustrating, The Extraordinary Miss Flower is a real pleasure: luxuriant like a good glass of red wine. Partly that's down to the songs, vivacious pop-electronica numbers sung with seductive intimacy by Torrini, who is pretty extraordinary herself. What we do find out about Flower is that she had a conventional upbringing in Australia, then swanned off to London where she worked as a secretary at the Telegraph, picking up bits of journalism. An adventurer by nature, she travelled widely – and men were obsessed, reduced to slushy puddles by the dozen. Plenty of them wrote letters too, read here by Cave and others, including actor Richard Ayoade. Flower herself remains elusive – which is the point, perhaps, since the perspective here is mostly lovers' projections written on a delirious high, reconstructed from the letters. Some lines are romantic, others hilariously awful: 'I am in withdrawal from you like a Prague junkie.' Poor guy. The Extraordinary Miss Flower is in UK and Irish cinemas from 9 May
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Arte Distribution Unveils Live Music Collection With Performances By Nick Cave, Air & Alexandre Desplat
Arte Distribution has added a new live music collection to its international sales catalog featuring performances by the likes of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Metronomy, Air and Caribou. Classical music performances include Oscar-winning composer Alexandre Desplat conducting the Orchestre de Paris, playing a selection of his music at the Philharmonie de Paris concert hall. More from Deadline Sky Gives First Peek At Matt Smith Playing Bunny Munro In Adaptation Of Cult Nick Cave Novel Kate Winslet Had Unexpected 'Titanic' Reunion While Making 'Lee' 'The Extraordinary Miss Flower' Review: A Stash Of Secret Love Letters Inspires A Psychedelic Musical Biopic - London Film Festival The collection also pays tribute to late French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez, with a commemorative concert marking the 100th anniversary of his birth, and also features the first live concert at Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral following its reopening last year. Contemporary highlights include Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds live in Paris, the legendary concert of Air at the Royal Albert Hall, Metronomy in the phantasmagorical Gallery of Evolution at the National Museum of Natural History, and Caribou. 'We are proud to present such a vibrant and immersive collection to our partners. It's a unique opportunity to showcase the richness and diversity of musical creativity—from timeless classics to unforgettable contemporary moments,' said Joséphine Létang, Head of Sales at ARTE Distribution. ARTE Distribution is the international sales arm of the European public channel ARTE with a catalog of over 4,000 hours of documentaries produced by 150 French and international production companies. Best of Deadline 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 'And Just Like That ...' Season 3: Everything We Know So Far
