PJ Harvey
Movie coming soon
Commissioned by Island Records to film PJ Harvey's UK Tour - Uh Huh Her, but not without infamous director Maria Mochnacz who through her long-term relationship and understanding of PJ Harvey, managed to direct a wholly original piece. A piece that Polly wanted people to be able to gain a little sense of what touring is like for her; "There was only one person I could have entrusted these wishes to; Maria Mochnacz. Marias film captures this. It is, for me, the experience, very accurately shown" (filter-mag.com).
The tour included performances at Leeds, Nottingham, Cambridge, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton and Hammersmith Apollo London. Maria created a 80 minute live performance piece including footage from all venues which takes advantage of their director / artist relationship giving viewers a true glimpse of Polly Jean Harvey. Maria is very much in the cannon of the structuralism artists, and allows herself full indulgence in the making of the project. Her unorthodox approach is fuelled by the way she takes the visual medium and processes it, as such giving it her own distinctive signature.
The current ‘Please Leave Quietly' DVD (released May 2006) was created from this Uh Huh Her tour in 2004. Polly has always found footage of concerts boring - uninteresting lighting, fixed camera positions, one venue so Maria and retro-juice tracked this tour to be able to capture every essence. Maria wandered backstage, mixed with the audience and followed them on the road. It has led to "about as perfect a live DVD as you can get" - (Music OMH.com).
Here is what the reviews said:
Entertainment Weekly - May 26 2006 - "Heavy on handheld camera work and collage style editing ‘Quietly' packs a punch as raw and immediate as the enigmatic artist it shadows".
Billboard - May 27 2006 - "Maria Mochnacz's stunningly gritty and artful direction not only brings the band's often riveting stage show to life, but captures 'the mess at the end' of every outing".
Q Magazine - feature review June 06' - "Ultimately it gives the viewer some sense of the listless nature of touring, as broken by 90 nightly minutes of utter exhilaration...the frequently thrilling ‘Please Leave Quietly' is the closest you'll get to experiencing the absorbing power of PJ Harvey in the comfort of your own front room".