BL!NDMAN & DONNIE DARKO
VIDEODROOM, the annual dream date between 404 Arts Centre and Film Fest Gent, opens this year with a bang: BL!NDMAN [sax] performs live their new soundtrack to the cult film Donnie Darko.
This dark sci-fi gem from 2001 grew into one of the cult films of the early 2000s largely through word of mouth. Director Richard Kelly’s debut had a forgettable run in cinemas, released just two months after 9/11 with promotional focus on a plane crash, seemingly destined to fail. Despite this rocky start, Donnie Darko became a true underground hit on DVD, a ‘must see’ for cinephiles drawn to eccentric cinema.
“I want to emphasize the different storylines with BL!NDMAN without falling into the clichés of traditional ‘horror-movie’ accompaniment. The typical eighties songs (Duran Duran, Echo & the Bunnymen, Joy Division, …) are of course preserved as such. It’s an arsenal of instruments (saxophones, percussion, turntables, electronics, …) that will give the film’s sound a physical presence. The musicians on stage are part of another parallel world, a tribe elsewhere in time and space.” Eric Sleichim
Live music
Eric Sleichim: artistic direction, composition, sounddesign and electronics
BL!NDMAN [sax].
Pieter Pellens: soprano saxophone,turntable, percussion
Hendrik Pellens: alto saxophone, turntable, percussion
Piet Rebel: tenor saxophone, turntable, percussion
Sebastiaan Cooman: baritone saxophone, turntable, percussion
Film.
Richard Kelly: director
Cast
Jake Gyllenhaal: Donnie Darko
Holmes Osborne: Eddie Darko
Maggie Gyllenhaal: Elizabeth Darko
Daveigh Chase: Samantha Darko
Mary McDonnell: Rose Darko
James Duval: Frank The Rabbit/Frank Anderson
Arthur Taxier: Dr Tad Fisher
Patrick Swayze: Jim Cunningham
as part of VIDEODROOM 2024, in coproduction with 404 and Film Fest Gent
Agenda
THE FILM
Donnie Darko is best described as a surreal odyssey filled with bizarre visions, intricate time travel, and a standout performance by a young Jake Gyllenhaal. He compellingly portrays a troubled teenager grappling with hallucinations and paranoid thoughts aided by antidepressants, complicated by the haunting presence of a sinister man in a rabbit suit offering cryptic glimpses of the future. Spoiler alert: it’s far from reassuring.
Despite its potential as a bleak psychological drama on paper, ‘Donnie Darko’ blends mystery and darkness with delightful, pitch-black humor and visual ingenuity. These elements contributed to its cult success as a Lynchian mind-bender. The film rightfully secured the 2nd spot in Empire’s 50 Greatest Independent Films of All Time and 53rd in Empire’s 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.