9 Songs (2004)

Director:

Michael Winterbottom

Writer:

Michael Winterbottom

Release Date:

20 January 2005 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Music | Romance

Tagline:

2 Lovers. 1 Year.

Plot:

In London, England, love blooms between an American college student, named Lisa, and a British glaciologist, named Matt, where over the next few months in between attending rock concerts, the two lovers have intense sexual encounters.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Rock Concert | Glaciologist | Concert | Song

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Kieran O'Brien	...	Matt
Margo Stilley	...	Lisa
Huw Bunford	...	Himself (Super Furry Animals)
Cian Ciaran	...	Himself (Super Furry Animals)
The Dandy Warhols	...	Themselves
Elbow	...	Themselves
Franz Ferdinand	...	Themselves
Bobby Gillespie	...	Himself (Primal Scream)
Bob Hardy	...	Himself (Franz Ferdinand)
Dafydd Ieuan	...	Himself (Super Furry Animals)
Alex Kapranos	...	Himself (Franz Ferdinand)
Mani	...	Himself (Primal Scream)
Nick McCarthy	...	Himself (Franz Ferdinand)
Michael Nyman	...	Himself
Guto Pryce	...	Himself (Super Furry Animals)
Gruff Rhys	...	Himself (Super Furry Animals)
Courtney Taylor-Taylor	...	Himself (the Dandy Warhols)
Robert Young	...	Himself (Primal Scream)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club	...	Themselves
Don Blum	...	Himself
Marcie Bolen	...	Herself
Guy Garvey	...	Himself (Elbow)
Peter Hayes	...	Himself (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club)
Nick Jago	...	Himself (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club)
Richard Jupp	...	Himself (Elbow)
Craig Potter	...	Himself (Elbow)
Mark Potter	...	Himself (Elbow)
Carrie Smith	...	Herself
Jason Stollsteimer	...	Himself
Super Furry Animals	...	Themselves
Pete Turner	...	Himself (Elbow)
Robert Turner	...	Himself (Black Rebel Motorcycle Club)
The Von Bondies	...	Themselves

Directed by
Michael Winterbottom

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Michael Winterbottom

Produced by
Andrew Eaton	....	executive producer
Andrew Eaton	....	producer
Melissa Parmenter	....	associate producer
Michael Winterbottom	....	producer

Cinematography by
Marcel Zyskind

Film Editing by
Mat Whitecross
Michael Winterbottom

Casting by
Steve Daly
Julie Dunne

Production Management
Layla Blackman	....	post-production supervisor (as Layla Evans)

Sound Department
Tristan Aneca	....	additional sound mixer (as Tristan Anika)
Alan Cridford	....	additional sound mixer
Richard Davey	....	dubbing mixer
Rashad Omar	....	additional sound mixer
Rashid Omar	....	additional sound mixer
Joakim Sundström	....	sound editor
Stuart Wilson	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Annemarie Lean-Vercoe	....	additional camera operator (as Anne Marie Lean Vercoe)
Mat Whitecross	....	additional camera operator

Editorial Department
Ross Baker	....	colorist
Cas Casey	....	digital on-line editor
Jon Thompson	....	digital film transfer

Other crew
Michael Groom	....	production assistant: dailies
Jethro Harris	....	operations manager: Pepper Ltd.
Boyd Harvey	....	insurance: Media Insurance
Martin McGlone	....	laboratory contact
Fiona McGuire	....	head of production: Revolution Films
Helen Phelps	....	sales manager: Pepper Post Productions Ltd.
Martyn Richmond	....	production assistant
Molly Tudhope	....	production assistant: Revolution Films

Thanks
Nick Adams	....	special thanks
Air	....	special thanks
Rab Andrew	....	special thanks
Amy Ashworth	....	special thanks
Chris Auty	....	special thanks
John Babbitt	....	special thanks
Michael Been	....	special thanks (as Michael Big Daddy Been)
Michael Brennan	....	special thanks
James Brown	....	special thanks
Cerne Canning	....	special thanks
Rick Canny	....	special thanks
Rhiannon Ceiri	....	special thanks
Phil Chadwick	....	special thanks
Peter Christelis	....	special thanks
Gary Downing	....	special thanks
Nigel Downs	....	special thanks
Jon Duncan	....	special thanks
Stephane Elfassi	....	special thanks
Ralph Harrison	....	special thanks
Pernilla Holl	....	special thanks
Michel Houellebecq	....	special thanks
Greg Hunt	....	special thanks
Josh Hyams	....	special thanks
Lindy King	....	special thanks
Sarah Kite	....	special thanks
Stuart Laing	....	special thanks
Elizabeth Lloyd	....	special thanks: Michael Nyman Limited
Alun Llwyd	....	special thanks
Graeme Lowe	....	special thanks
Graeme Mason	....	special thanks
Claire Muldone	....	special thanks
Ross Pelling	....	special thanks
Craig Pride	....	special thanks
Brigham Ray	....	special thanks
Eddie Richardson	....	special thanks
Marc Robinson	....	special thanks
David Rootes	....	special thanks
Rowetta Satchell	....	special thanks (as Rowetta)
Steve Schmoll	....	special thanks
Courtney Taylor-Taylor	....	special thanks (as Courtney Taylor Taylor)
Aiden Thompson	....	special thanks
Venus	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Revolution Films

Distributors

• Optimum Releasing (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• Accent Film Entertainment (2005) (Australia) (theatrical)
• Central Partnership (2005) (Russia) (theatrical)
• Fine Films (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2005) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• GAGA (2005) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Pan Européenne Distribution (2005) (France) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Playtime S.A. (2005) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Tartan (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• Gateno Films (2006) (Peru) (all media)
• Palisades Pictures (2005) (USA) (all media)
• Palisades Tartan (2004) (USA) (all media)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (2005) (Germany) (DVD)
• Tartan Video USA (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2007) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2007) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2005) (Switzerland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Clarity Post Production Sound  sound post-production
• Limehouse Recordings  sound post-production
• Pepper Post Production  post-production
• Q-Casting  casting
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services

Also Known As:

Runtime:

71 min | USA:67 min (DVD version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:R (re-rating on appeal) | France:-18 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Iceland:16 | Ireland:18 | Japan:R-18 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | UK:18 | USA:Not Rated | New Zealand:R18 | Brazil:18 | Spain:18 | Portugal:M/18 | Netherlands:16 | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-18 | Canada:R (British Columbia/Ontario) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Mexico:D | Australia:X (South Australia) (original rating) | Singapore:(Banned) | Argentina:18 | Taiwan:R-18 | France:-16 (edited version) | Italy:VM18 | Malaysia:(Banned) | South Korea:18 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Brixton Academy - 211 Stockwell Road, Brixton, London, England, UK

Company:

Revolution Films

Trivia:

Shooting time for the film was projected as ten weeks. The cast and crew ended up shooting for five months.

Goofs:

Continuity: The clock on the wall goes forth and back in time between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Matt:When I remember Lisa I don't think about her clothes, or her work, or where she was from, or even what she said. I think about her smell, her taste, her skin touching mine.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Extremes (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Nadia

A unique experience

It seems strange to have such an affection for a film that is so flawed and fails in so many areas. Either way, I really really enjoyed Nine Songs, a relationship drama told strictly through sex. First, we'll list the failures. The acting of our female lead is a bit suspect and makes her, in the end, unlikable. The photography, although intimate and immediate, suffers from it's DV quality and makes you wonder how beautiful this film could have been shot with the eye of perhaps... Lars Von Trier's dogma lense. Most importantly, the movie relies on two ingredients that in the end prove a bit useless. We are reliving the story in memory via the male lead as he travels through Antarctica. Although it is an interesting metaphor and a captivating landscape, it seems almost entirely unnecessary. We hear him say "you can be clostraphobic and agoraphobic all at the same time, much like the bedroom." Secondly, and most important, the live music is inconsequential, although good. The actual image quality is low, the songs play for too long, the lyrics apply to the narrative not at all, and the bands all flirt with one style (Michael Nyman being the exception). I must say, there is an outstanding version of "Jacqueline" by Franz Ferdinand.

Now let me tell you where the film succeeds. We experience two young, naive, selfish personalities infatuated with one another, and the idea of one another. This is expressed in the most immediate and intimate fashion: SEX. We see two people in the prime of a relationship, in which the most sex is had, and as much as possible, however possible, symbolizing favors, trust, forgiveness, revenge, and all the other facets of a relationship. These scenes also succeed because of their length, the total lack of music, and the director's willingness to let them exist without explanation. Although these two characters are not even particularly likable or explained to us, we end up feeling as if we've shared something very deep with them, solely based on the extent to which we are asked to hang with them throughout the long and graphic and no holds barred sex scenes.

It may seem sick, but by the end, as a graphic fellatio scene ends with actual ejaculation, you have become so acclimatized to this topic, and it being our main source of communication, that there is an almost unspoken dialogue between all parties. Instead of feeling offended, we feel love for the privacy of the moment, for the trust and sharing that happens there. Instead of feeling aroused, we feel compelled by the motives, interested in the roles played and mindful of the moment shared.

By asking that you step into a theater, with total strangers, and watch many graphic sexual encounters, many unexplained and without the usual Hollywood ramp-up, you have signed over a certain amount of control and comfort as an audience-member, which in the end, offers a truly unique experience of the "love story". When all is said and done, "Nine Songs" evoked a truly unique and loving response from me, in spite of the fact that as a film, it fails in many areas. I would not say that many films should be made like this, but I would say that it is flirting with a new form of love story that is raw, beautiful and in the end, no matter how many times it fails, honest by the sheer default of it's topic.