GRAY HOUSE
A film by Austin Lynch and Matthew Booth
2017, 76 minutes
2017, 76 minutes
No. 156
Documentary
Documentary
Description
Deftly blending vérité footage, interviews, landscapes, and fictional elements – some of which involve actors Denis Lavant (Holy Motors, Beau Travail) and Aurore Clément (Paris, Texas), Gray House for a prescient vision of modern-day America.
By way of stunning nocturnal imagery and a commandingly atmospheric sound design, the film presents glimpses of corners of the country seldom portrayed in cinema — the North Dakotan oil plains, a mysterious community in rural Virginia, a women’s correctional facility in the Pacific Northwest—and methodically unearths their obscure beauty.
Perhaps more urgently, Lynch and Booth provide ample screen time to American workers who are seen in films even less often, carving out a space for them to express their fears, desires, politics, and musings about their everyday realities.
By way of stunning nocturnal imagery and a commandingly atmospheric sound design, the film presents glimpses of corners of the country seldom portrayed in cinema — the North Dakotan oil plains, a mysterious community in rural Virginia, a women’s correctional facility in the Pacific Northwest—and methodically unearths their obscure beauty.
Perhaps more urgently, Lynch and Booth provide ample screen time to American workers who are seen in films even less often, carving out a space for them to express their fears, desires, politics, and musings about their everyday realities.
Festivals
Winner, Special Mention, DOX:AWARD, CPH:DOX
Official Selection, Art of the Real
Official Selection, Cinéma du Réel
Official Selection, Art of the Real
Official Selection, Cinéma du Réel
Reviews
"Beguilingly beautiful. Haunting, unsettling. Astounding."
– Joshua Oppenheimer, Director of The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence
“A fragmented vision of America distilled by moments of hushed beauty and topographical unease… Gray House not only describes the forgotten places where these people reside, but an entire American landscape marked by a sense of isolation and disquiet.” – Hollywood Reporter
"A captivating portrait of America. Gray House is a majestic and powerful work and within its structure and imagery, rather than plot or narrative, is where meaning is found. Lynch and Booth lead the audience to strange and terrific places." – Frieze Magazine
"Paints an expression of the human experience, from toil to tranquility, with strikingly beautiful photography and haunting ambiguity." – Dazed
"Haunting and audacious. Lynch and Booth take us to places we’ve likely never been and might never have seen were it not for their curiosity and insight, making the invisible visible in a way that is both deeply disturbing and profoundly moving." – Screen Slate
“A fragmented vision of America distilled by moments of hushed beauty and topographical unease… Gray House not only describes the forgotten places where these people reside, but an entire American landscape marked by a sense of isolation and disquiet.” – Hollywood Reporter
"A captivating portrait of America. Gray House is a majestic and powerful work and within its structure and imagery, rather than plot or narrative, is where meaning is found. Lynch and Booth lead the audience to strange and terrific places." – Frieze Magazine
"Paints an expression of the human experience, from toil to tranquility, with strikingly beautiful photography and haunting ambiguity." – Dazed
"Haunting and audacious. Lynch and Booth take us to places we’ve likely never been and might never have seen were it not for their curiosity and insight, making the invisible visible in a way that is both deeply disturbing and profoundly moving." – Screen Slate
