The Irish immigrant experience is examined in The Builder, a new film whose soundtrack is graced by the likes of Bon Iver, Gregor Samsa, Pan American, Robert Donne and Spokane.
The debut feature from writer/director R. Alverson, it “follows an Irish immigrant carpenter from coastal Queens to the Catskills and beyond, The Builder is an American existential portrait that explores the gulf between the idea of a thing and the thing itself. Having set off to the New York countryside to construct a reproduction of the earliest of American cape houses, the protagonist (Colm O'Leary) finds himself overcome by an inexplicable fatigue. Debts and expectations mount alongside the crudest and most naive of deceptions, that of both self and family. As the chasm grows the Builder finds himself confronted by the unnerving ambivalence of the world around him. It's a subtle, contemplative rendering reminiscent of the films of John Cassavetes and The Dardenne Brothers.”
Receiving its DVD release on July 27, The Builder has already enjoyed huge success on the festival circuit. Watch the trailer at [link]thebuilderfilm.com[/link].