The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José González

Colour, DIGIBETA
Sweden, 2010, 74 min
Section: 2011: A Musical Odyssey

Synopsis

Documentary and fiction (via animated sequences) come together in this ambitious portrait of Swedish songwriter José González, who has acquired immense international popularity over the last decade. The directing duo trace the musician’s life using several visual keys at the same time: video journal, surveillance cameras, concert footage, tour documentation and animation. All this to a common end: to film something as elusive as the creative process. Where do these songs come from? What precedes the genesis of a powerful song? González records his own soliloquies, reflecting on the photon’s journey from the sun to our eyes, on Darwinism, and the creative struggle. The film was shot over a three-year period on location in Sweden, Japan, South Africa, Great Britain, the USA, Chile and Argentina. Director Mikel Cee Karlsson: "There is something absurd, fascinating and beautiful in our attempts to find meaning in our existence. In this film we wanted to give form to the personal artistic process. How personal reflection and everyday fragments of life shape our input and output.”

About the director

Mikel Cee Karlsson (b. 1977, Varberg, Sweden) studied direction at the School of Film Directing in Göteborg. He has made several award-winning shorts and also music videos for the likes of Fever Ray, Bonde do Role and José González. During the 1990s he was one of Scandinavia’s best skateboarders. His first feature-length film, the documentary Greetings from the Woods (2009), was selected for the official programme at Locarno.
Fredrik Egerstrand (b. 1967, Alingsås, Sweden) worked as an actor for eleven years before buying his first video camera. Since then he has been making films for opera, ballet and theatre productions, music videos and programmes for Swedish television.