Fleet Foxes‘ fussy, sprawling epic-like track “I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar,” the opening salvo from their 2017 album Crack-Up, naturally now has its own grand sweeping cinematic short film. The latest visual from Fleet Foxes—directed by Sean Pecknold, the brother of frontman Robin Pecknold—is shot in 35 mm film and follows the journey of a man desperately trying to find something that eludes him. In a press statement, Pecknold describes the film as:
“For me, the song encapsulated the themes and feelings of the whole record like an overture; the darkness / lightness, the fast / slow, the tension between two competing voices and the unpredictable dynamic shifts of tempo and voice. I wanted to create a striking visual allegory that felt both intimate and lonely, grand and triumphant.
With the film I wanted to visualize the struggle within the song through the story of a fictional character trying to escape from his house and reach an ever elusive mythical place only to be brought back to the start by the pull of a mysterious red cube. At the start of the film it’s as if we have happened upon a man tired from a repetitive struggle that has been going on for weeks, months, even years. There becomes a frustrating sense of repetition as he attempts to reach these metaphorical end goals and fails time after time. It’s something I can relate to, and hopefully others can too.”
Watch the short film for “I Am All That I Need / Arroyo Seco / Thumbprint Scar” below.
