July 25, 2005
Brief thoughts on some experimental films:
Brad Mitchell's just finished his first short, Asterion, which is, simply enough, about a man going to the subway station and catching a train. It's an experiment in sound design, above all else, but the visual aspects of the film are pretty impressive in their own right. There are a few overt special effects, but what I really liked were the more obscure tricks - the digital camera shakes, the fragmenting, and one particular close up of skin undergoing some sort of transmutation that's subtly disturbing in a rather Cronenberg-esque manner.
I'd been looking forward to the release of Chris Cunningham's short film Rubber Johnny for some time; the website and trailer were enormously enticing, and it's overall been far too long since Cunningham's had anything new to offer. And although the film is categorized as abstract, the synopsis at the website gave me reason to be excited about the possibility of Cunningham applying his vision to a narrative of some sort.
To that end, the film itself was disappointing. The first minute or so is what the trailer is culled from, and that material is wonderful; like so much of Cunningham's work, it's both funny and unsettling, and I really admired the way he uses uncomfortably long takes and night-vision - essentially, home video aesthetics - to ground his effects work in reality. That all changes shortly after the opening titles. The music kicks in, the film takes a drastic change in tone, and it basically becomes a hyperkinetic Aphex Twin video. That, in and of itself, is not a bad thing; it's a pretty great music video (if one were to watch it on various mind altering substances, it would probably be terrifying). But we already know Cunningham can make great Aphex Twin clips, and it's a bit of a letdown to see the creepy promise of those opening minutes undermined by something that, however cool and conceptually original it may be, is pretty unsubstantial.
It's not an expensive DVD, and that it's packaged with a book of artwork is a nice gesture to fans, given that the film itself is so brief; but this really is little more than filler, and would have been better suited for inclusion on a (greatly needed) second volume of Cunningham's collected works from the Director's Series.
I will say, however, that Cunningham is on to something with the night vision, a gimmick that's been underutilized by filmmakers. It has an inherently eerie, otherwordly quality to it (as anyone who's seen the Paris Hilton video can certainly attest to), due as much to the noise and gamma levels as the glowing-retina effect, that transcends its own potential tackiness. It probably should remain underutilized, but, like Pixelvision, its application has some very interesting possibilities in the dramatic realm.
This is where I'd write about Bodysong - except that it only just this morning arrived in my mailbox. Finally! I'm off to try to find the time to watch it.
Posted by David Lowery at July 25, 2005 04:50 AM