ELECTRA

From the quiet and thoughtful to the loud and ridiculous, this arresting collection of short work by Hal Hartley reveals the tireless experimentation, curiosity, and playfulness that lies behind his many feature films, like The Unbelievable Truth, Simple Men, Amateur, The Book of Life, Trust, Flirt, Henry Fool, No Such Thing, and The Girl From Monday.

Details about The New Math(s):
Music by Louis Andriessen: The New Math(s) for flauto traverso, violin, soprano, and percussion
Electronic inserts: Michel van der Aa
Soundtrack recorded by ELECTRA

Composer Louis Andriessen and independent director Hal Hartley's film is about mathematics and fun. At the center of the action is a mathematical equation on a blackboard, with a teacher and two students in dispute over its meaning. Their conflict is expressed through movement, fighting turned into a kind of dance, filtered through Hong Kong kung fu movies and early expressionist cinema. Time stands still, the music chases itself, and the characters chase each other, through the building and onto the roof. The film The New Math(s) was commissioned by the BBC (UK), in cooperation with the NPS (The Netherlands) in 1999–2000. Four composers (Louis Andriessen, John Tavener, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Adrian Utley of Portishead) were each asked to choose a filmmaker to work with on a short film together. Louis Andriessen and New York film director Hal Hartley (The Unbelievable Truth, Flirt, Simple Men) are together part of this large-scale project initiated by the BBC. The New Math(s) is the result of this collaboration.

From the composer:
The music is written for ELECTRA. It consists of three "catches" plus an introduction, for flauto traverso, violin, percussion, and soprano. The catches, English 16th-century canons, are a formal allusion to one of the themes of the film: the pursuit. Each catch is faster than the preceding one. This will be reinforced by the tape part, where besides instrumental material a clock is used, played by the percussionist, plus the sound of a tap dancer. The tap-dance rhythm is an allusion to the 1930s references in the film. The tape part was composed and created by Michel van der Aa.

From the filmmaker:
Two students and their teacher seem to be fighting - literally - over the proper solution to a complex mathematical equation. Is it the key to time and space or a coded instruction manual about their own secret urges? An alchemical action movie? A real life cartoon with original music by Dutch heavyweight, Louis Andriessen, performed by ELECTRA. Hal Hartley fashioned this whimsical piece of fight choreography with three of his recent performer/collaborators, Miho Nikaido, David Neumann, and DJ Mendel.

POSSIBLE FILMS
From the quiet and thoughtful to the loud and ridiculous, this arresting collection of short work by Hal Hartley reveals the tireless experimentation, curiosity, and playfulness that lies behind his many feature films, like The Unbelievable Truth, Simple Men, Amateur, The Book of Life, Trust, Flirt, Henry Fool, No Such Thing, and The Girl From Monday. Details about The New Math(s): Music by Louis Andriessen: The New Math(s) for flauto traverso, violin, soprano, and percussion Electronic inserts: Michel van der Aa Soundtrack recorded by ELECTRA Composer Louis Andriessen and independent director Hal Hartley's film is about mathematics and fun. At the center of the action is a mathematical equation on a blackboard, with a teacher and two students in dispute over its meaning. Their conflict is expressed through movement, fighting turned into a kind of dance, filtered through Hong Kong kung fu movies and early expressionist cinema. Time stands still, the music chases itself, and the characters chase each other, through the building and onto the roof. The film The New Math(s) was commissioned by the BBC (UK), in cooperation with the NPS (The Netherlands) in 1999–2000. Four composers (Louis Andriessen, John Tavener, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Adrian Utley of Portishead) were each asked to choose a filmmaker to work with on a short film together. Louis Andriessen and New York film director Hal Hartley (The Unbelievable Truth, Flirt, Simple Men) are together part of this large-scale project initiated by the BBC. The New Math(s) is the result of this collaboration. From the composer: The music is written for ELECTRA. It consists of three "catches" plus an introduction, for flauto traverso, violin, percussion, and soprano. The catches, English 16th-century canons, are a formal allusion to one of the themes of the film: the pursuit. Each catch is faster than the preceding one. This will be reinforced by the tape part, where besides instrumental material a clock is used, played by the percussionist, plus the sound of a tap dancer. The tap-dance rhythm is an allusion to the 1930s references in the film. The tape part was composed and created by Michel van der Aa. From the filmmaker: Two students and their teacher seem to be fighting - literally - over the proper solution to a complex mathematical equation. Is it the key to time and space or a coded instruction manual about their own secret urges? An alchemical action movie? A real life cartoon with original music by Dutch heavyweight, Louis Andriessen, performed by ELECTRA. Hal Hartley fashioned this whimsical piece of fight choreography with three of his recent performer/collaborators, Miho Nikaido, David Neumann, and DJ Mendel.