Montserrat, integral 107
This captivating film chronicles the progress of two friends as they attempt to climb all 107 pinnacles of Montserrat.
Christina Zurbrügg is a well-known musician, yodeller and director from the Kiental a valley in Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland. Not so long ago, her former neighbour pressed some amateur film reels into her hand.
For that reason, we are going back in time. 70 years ago to be precise. We are about to witness how village life played out back then, in the 1950s. Men in britches with milk churns, young women in smocks or floral dresses, the postman, old buses spewing out day-trippers, girls with tight braids in traditional costumes, and the languorous cows in lush alpine grass. In short, a ‘divine world’ or paradise that almost conjures up a false longing for a time when people were still innocent and welcoming and the mountains unspoilt.
Zurbrügg and Michael Hudecek add an extra layer by providing the silent film with modern (yodel) music and poetic commentary, allowing the viewer to balance between two ages, whilst at the same time making it clear that change cannot be held back.
