And we would go on as though nothing was wrong.
And hide from these days we remained all alone.
Staying in the same place, just staying out the time.
Touching from a distance, further all the time.
— Joy Division, “Transmission” (1981)

The four music-related films I was most looking forward to seeing
at this year’s SIFF are This Is England and Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, Scott Walker: 30 Century Man, and Control. The first three have already played. The fourth, Anton Corbijn’s critically acclaimed Ian Curtis bio-pic (based on Deborah Curtis’s Touching From a Distance), wasn’t part of the 2007 line-up.

I guess I shouldn’t feel too bad. A friend waited in line for an hour at Cannes last month and wasn’t able to get in. Fortunately, the trailer—in English with French subtitles—has just been posted to YouTube:

American release dates haven’t yet been announced for
The Future Is Unwritten, 30 Century Man (which was
just picked up for US distribution), and Control, but you
can now sign up for updates regarding the latter.

Interestingly, Sam Riley, who plays Curtis, appeared as Mark E. Smith in Michael Winterbottom’s 24-Hour Party People (Sean Harris assumed the Curtis role—and did a great job, too). This Is England opens in limited release on 7/25. Also, don’t miss the rousing concert documentary Gypsy Caravan, which opens at the Varsity on 7/20.

Click here for more information about Control (at my site).