Salmonberries (1991)
Even looking at the cover for this DVD release, I kind of knew that if I watched it I would be seeing KD Lang naked. I don’t know why this was, perhaps something about her expression told me I had better beware.
I do like KD Lang though and I couldn’t wait to see her act, especially with someone of high European pedigree as Rosel Zech, and the experience wasn’t wasted; Salmonberries is a film which anyone can relate to, because it is about isolation and coming to terms with yourself, with all of this happening in distant and almost alien Alaska.
It was comforting to see Rosel Zech in a major starring role, even if she had to go to Alaska to achieve it. What I have to say first of all, is for somebody whose English is so stunningly good, she appears in virtually no English language films, which is a shame.
She makes a good contrast to KD Lang however, and both of them, and for different reasons have to come to terms with a past that gives them few clues, and has left them both lost in that great white wasteland.
Zech, who plays a widowed librarian living at the end of the world, is clearly more flexible than most English speaking actresses; but that’s perhaps an illusion created by the obvious typecasting that the American film industry goes in for.
Although Salmonberries feels like a bit of a one man show on the part of the director, it’s still a moving tale and shot with vision, with excellent use being made of white light exteriors versus dark interiors. It’s all very distant for most of us who know who our families are, and who don’t live in such far removed communities, so you can really wallow in this film, and enjoy the trip.