VERTICAL POOL and PARATHEATRICAL RESEARCH presents

(2003; 96 min. USA)

ABOVE IMAGE LINKS TO THE MOVIE ON VIMEO
DVD available here

When tragic turns to magic at the crossroads of dreams...


“Under a Shipwrecked Moon,” presents the classic mythic tale of a hero
on a vision quest but places it in a naturalistic setting where the fabulous
and the visionary is seen as a part of everyday life. In doing so, it enables
the viewer to build a bridge between the quotidian and the visionary,
the living and the dead." - David Finkelstein (4 stars) filmthreat.com

Two-minute teaser -- Music by Sylvi Alli

Sylvi Alli as "Sisu", Gabriel Carter as "Jari", and Lea Bender as "Madeline"

The power of a long-buried family secret becomes unleashed when
the extreme rituals of a young punk rocker catapults his consciousness
into the spirit realm in search of his Finnish father, a ship captain who
drowned in the Bering Sea. His father's mother was a Sami sorceress
whose shamanic powers were passed on to her grandson, powers
tested as he enters the mythic dreams of his Finnish grandfather
who lies comatose in a hospital bed. Under a Shipwrecked Moon
is a surrealistic fable of true love, giant hedgehogs, and
the mystical depths of ancestral bonds.



Lee Vogt as the Doctor & Clody Cates as the Nurse





"A Kalevalan spirit moves throughout "Under a Shipwrecked Moon". Animal spirits
of ravens and hedgehogs dance around on a giant chessboard. The cinematography
is excellent, changing continually along with the moods of the story. Arranged by
the talented Sylvi Alli, a rich musical soundtrack drives the film and
features her unique rendition of Sibelius' Finlandia on the piano."
-- HARRI SIITONEN for NEW WORLD FINN

"Mixing the shaman traditions of Finland's folklore with psychedelic washes of color
and daring theatrical experiments, and capping the visuals with a haunting score
created and performed by his real-life collaborator Sylvi Alli (whose beautiful screen
presence is used to its fullest as the shaman), "Shipwrecked Moon" takes the
imagination into realms that few artists could ever aspire to conceive."
- Phil Hall (3 stars) filmthreat.com

In dreams, the family becomes characters in The Wizard of Oz

THE CAST and THE CREW

THE STORY BEHIND THE MOON

THIS FILM'S SCREENING HISTORY

THE SOUNDTRACK

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