Redoubt

The new film by artist and director Matthew Barney unfolds as a series of hunts in the wilderness of Idaho’s majestic Sawtooth Mountains. The characters communicate a mythological narrative through dance, letting movement replace language as they pursue each other and their prey. The title REDOUBT refers to natural fortifications that provide solace and/or American Redoubt, a far-right survivalists movement. The myth of Diana and Actaeon unfolds in his native Idaho, with Diana played by real-life sharpshooter Anette Wachter. She’s accompanied by two nymphs on a wolf hunt (one, Eleanor Bauer, choreographed the film’s gravity-defying movements); Barney is the Engraver/forest ranger – stealthily etching their movements onto copper plates. Wordless physical action, choreography and spectacular cinematography create a dreamlike logic. Note: no animals were harmed in the making of the film.