2001-2010 Documentary France Laure Flammarion and Arnaud Uyttenhove

Laure Flammarion & Arnaud Uyttenhove – Somewhere to Disappear (2010)

adminDecember 22, 2018

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Publisher’s synopsis:
Somewhere to Disappear is a 57 minute documentary in which Alec Soth is the hero.
For his project “Broken Manual” Alec undertakes to write a guide that will provide the basic tips on how to disappear in America.

We follow him on his search for men who live on the margins of society. People who ran away from their natural environment, to find their own world. As modern day hermits, they find peace in unaffected places of the country, whether it be a cabin in the mountains, a dark cave or in the expansive desert. Each of these people chose to live in a different way. We wanted to find out why they live like this: did they deliberately make this choice? Do they regret it? What are they really looking for? Did they find it?

This project was born during the last month of George W. Bushs era. It captures the country during a unique period of historical changes that is mixed with the torment created by the financial crisis and the hope emerging from the election of Barack Obama.

This movie is by no means a voyeuristic cliché about someone who himself observes a subject, but focuses on a character who fantasizes about his subject and gradually blends with him.

The film captures Alec during the preliminary stage of his project. It guides us towards the rare and intriguing characters that inhabit his photos and shines a new light on the myths and contradictions of todays America.