via videosift.com

By way of  Vimeo.com, I came across this remarkable film, “Morgenrat“. It was directed by Jeff Desom and features the haunting music of Hauschka (Volker Bertlemann), an experimental musician/composer who lives in Dusseldorf. Apparently, the entire film was made using vintage photographs from the Library of Congress.

Promonews.tv has a nice interview with Jeff Desom, a Luxembourg filmmaker who has been associated with Hauschka for several years now (be sure to check out Jeff’s wonderful show reel at Vimeo).  At Hauschka’s youtube site, there is a wonderful live action film also directed by Jeff Desom called “Blotsky” (his graduation film from the Bournemouth Arts Institute (2007) where Hauscka’s music is featured. Hauschka also plays the lead role (brilliantly). It’s a remarkable film as well and equally strange/poetic.

I love the haunting, decayed quality of Morgenrat. Reminds me a bit of the Quay Brothers, but simpler. You may not know exactly what the film means, but there’s a mood created with the sepia-toned films being pulled into the 3D world that is undeniable. And the music adds so much to emotional pull of the images. Even the frame of the film is rotting away.