Swedish musician José González is the subject of a new documentary called The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José González, which is now starting to be shown at festivals throughout Europe. It is a beautiful, sly and radically intimate documentary about the life and mind of musician José González. The 74-minute film was directed by Mikel Cee Karisson and Fredrik Egerstrand and produced by Erik Hemmendorff for Plattform Produktion (Karisson has made videos for González as well as Fever Ray, among others). Using video diary, surveillance camera, concert footage, tour documentation and animation, directors Karlsson and Egerstrand have given form to something as elusive as the creative process of one of Sweden’s finest – and most secretive – musicians.

One of the more enigmatic and thought-provoking musicians of the last decade, González is one of Sweden’s most successful exports. He has sold almost one million records worldwide and has received accolades from the media in every country in which he has performed.

In the film we follow González through scenes shot during work on his second album, In Our Nature. Through a diary, based on personal voice recordings, we follow his everyday reflections from thoughts on a photon’s path from the sun to our eyes to Darwinism to the struggle to write songs.  Exploring universal themes such as loneliness, boredom and isolation, The Extraordinary Ordinary Life of José González gives us insight into one person’s attempt to manage and understand his own existence. It was shot over a three-year period on location in Sweden, Japan, Singapore, United States, South Africa, England, Chile and Argentina.

Trailer