The Dissolution of the Landscape

This short film sits at the crossroads of animation, documentary, etched and painted film interventions, and found footage. It evokes deep, almost inexpressible emotions, thanks to the talent of its director, who masterfully combines these different techniques with subtlety and precision. The result is breathtaking and captivating, drawing us into a state of awestruck contemplation. The music by Lyne Goulet, Martien Bélanger, and Frédéric Lebrasseur undeniably helps to bind it all together, stimulating the mind and sustaining the film’s poetic momentum. The “landscape,” in the literal sense, consists of images of nature — water, plants, minerals — captured in close-ups or wide shots, onto which the filmmaker intervenes through engraving to convey an idea or isolate a motif, much like Pierre Hébert did in his Places and Monuments series. However, the “landscape,” which dissolves according to the title, can also metaphorically evoke both memory and film stock itself. Indeed, Anne-Marie Bouchard weaves together “landscape,” “memory,” and “film” while reminding us that the photochemical medium — and the recorded images it carries — is itself a kind of vanishing memory. Though discreet by nature, Anne-Marie Bouchard is a major figure in Quebec’s experimental cinema scene.

Marco de Blois
Artistic Director
Sommets du cinéma d’animation