Salmonberries

Canadian crooner and cummings capitalized k.d. lang makes her feature debut in this off-beat indie drama from Bagdad Cafe and Sugarbaby writer-director Percy Adlon about the strange and curious relationship that develops deep in the Alaskan wilderness between an androgynous pipeline worker (lang) bent on researching her orphan origins, and the town's expatriate German librarian (Aimée & Jaguar's Rosel Zech), who is still desperate over the death of her husband nearly a quarter century ago. I should confess that as a long-time fan of lang's vocal work I made a point of catching Salmonberries in its original theatrical release, circa 1991, but found myself less than impressed at the time. Upon revisiting it, however, I find my opinion quite changed: though admittedly as slow as Alaskan molasses at times, it is just those pregnant pauses (in particular, capturing Alaska's wide open spaces, beautifully lensed by since celebrated cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigel) that ultimately weave a haunting spell around this unexpectedly moving love story. Also featuring an interview with lang, this 10th anniversary edition is a worthy addition for just about any sized collection. Recommended. (S. C. Sickles)