The first trailer for filmmakerTerrence Malick’s new filmSong to Songhas been released online. This is the “untitled music drama” that Malick shot back in 2011 at the Austin City Limits music festival, capturing footage of his actors onstage with various music acts and performers. He moved on to shooting and editingKnight of Cupsfirst while also tinkering away at his documentaryVoyage of Time, but now Malick is clearing out his edit bay asSong to Songmarks only one of two projects he currently has in post-production.
The film tracks two entangled couples against the backdrop of the Austin music scene—a pair of songwriters played byRooney MaraandRyan Gosling, and a music mogul played byMichael Fassbenderwho strikes up a relationship with a waitress played byNatalie Portman. That’s about all we know right now, but as with most of Malick’s projects over the last few years, a bevy of actors participated in the filming of the movie who may or may not make the cut (though a quick flash confirmsVal Kilmer’s cameo is still intact).
This trailer is definitely in the vein ofKnight of CupsandTo the Wonderas cinematographerEmmanuel Lubezki’s fish-eye lens is omnipresent, putting us in intensely intimate contact with the characters. While Malick’s experiential approach to filmmaking over the past few years has divided critics, the cast here is undeniably impressive, and given that Malick lives in Austin I’m interested to see if this one’s a bit more personal.
We’ll find out soon enough asSong to Songpremieres at South by Southwest next month and opens in New York and Los Angeles on March 17th. But this isn’t Malick’s only 2017 feature—his World War II-set dramaRadegundis also poised to be released later this year, which is said to be a return to a more formal type of narrative filmmaking.
Here’s the official synopsis forSong to Song:
In this modern love story set against the Austin, Texas music scene, two entangled couples—struggling songwriters Faye (Rooney Mara) and BV (Ryan Gosling), and music mogul Cook (Michael Fassbender) and the waitress whom he ensnares (Natalie Portman)—chase success through a rock ‘n’ roll landscape of seduction and betrayal.
