Quail And Dumplings For Bonnie “Prince” Billy

By Sacha Stephan / September 26th, 2011 in Music / 210 views

The Ben Berman-directed clip for Bonnie “Prince” Billy‘s (AKA Will Oldham) ‘Quail and Dumplings’ is a haunting and mildly bizarre exploration of what it means to feel lost. Using scratched film, the clip opens on a clear blue sky, sombrely ushering us in to this alternate “paradise” with the melancholic musings from Oldham and his acoustic guitar.

Starring a washed-up (literally) gentleman sporting a very impressive beard (Will Oldham’s past collaborator Kennan Gudjonsson), the protagonist arrives on this foreign beach and is taken in and cared for by the locals (snaps for the very mild—or possibly unintentional—Baywatch reference at the 40 second mark). After a full day of having his face painted, drinking coconut milk and playfully frolicking with the maiden of the clan (Nina Nastasia lip-synching Angel Olsen), the strange traveller embarks on the journey to go back from whence he came, only to be intercepted by a surprise betrayal on-mark with the strangeness of the clip itself.

Although strange and unpredictable, the clip essentially taps into an exploration of the idea of belonging, and the feeling of being thrust into an unfamiliar landscape, in a way that’s both jocular and poignant.