Burmese Harp (1956) opens at Film Forum October 18

With THE BURMESE HARP opening in a restore version at the Film Forum here is a piece I posted about ten years ago.

One of the first films I wanted to right up for Unseen was Kon Ichikawa‘s Harp of Burma or The Burmese Harp. Despite numerous efforts to do so I never have. The problem for me is that the film is so powerful and so moving to me that I can’t find the words. To me the humanity in the film is so powerful that it obliterates any of the flaws of the film (it’s a tad too mannered at times).

The film is set at the close of the Second World War in the Pacific. As the Japanese rally and try to make sense of what is going on one of their number will keep their spirits up by playing the harp. When the hostilities finally end, the men are placed into a camp by the Allies. However word of the end of the war hasn’t reached all the Japanese positions so they ask the prisoners if one would go into one of the strongholds and try to talk the men into surrendering. A man named Mizushima goes.The meeting doesn’t go well, he isn’t believed and the men think he is a traitor and they elect to fight to the last man. The end comes sooner then they think when the shelling resumes everyone is is killed. Everyone that is except Mizushima, who staggers out into the jungle. Not sure of what to do or where to go he wanders the countryside horrified that the bodies of his fellow comrades have been left to rot and decay where they were killed. Deciding he cannot allow this to be he decides to bury all of the dead where ever he finds them.

Almost five years on at Unseen I still don’t have the words. This film floors me each and every time I see it. And every time I see it I try to explain why it moves me so but I can’t find the words. What I always stumble on is how the film is a near perfect antiwar film, and how it is a touching memorial for those who died. It’s not just Japanese who died but anyone who died. We will remember. We will return you to a place of dignity despite the indignities of war and of your death. This is the return of humanity after the inhumanity of war.

I am beyond words. This film places me to somewhere that is all emotion and nothing else.

I don’t know what to say beyond just see it other than to say this is on my list of the greatest films ever made.

Shadowland (2024) Beyond Fest

Looking like one of Richard Stanley’s documentaries, the film begins as a portrait of the filmmaker as refugee from the film world while staying in a small town in France. He’d fallen in with a group of mystical believers and seemed to have become a leader. As things go on the charges against Stanley for domestic abuse raise their head and things begin to change as the group has to ponder what the charges mean for them.

This is a heady film that twists and turns as it goes. Even knowing what happened, I wasn’t certain how the turns were going to come. (that’s a rave)

What I like about the film is that this isn’t Stanley’s story. This is the story of the community he became part of and which had to come to terms with a man who ended up not being who they thought. It’s the story of how a group of people moved away from “modern society” to heal themselves and then had to use what they learned to survive something they never expected to have to deal with.

There is a magic in this film fueled by the human spirit and like the best mystical journeys it’s one that isn’t easy and isn’t as expected.

You will forgive the lack of details in this film, I am still processing. Yes there is a narrative arc that is easy to discuss but this film is more than the narrative. This is a film about belief, and community, and the search for self and the darkness in the real world. It’s a film that has a great deal to say and in the days since I sat down to watch it I find that I have been pondering it, waiting and waiting for  the words to come to me so that I can really discuss it and really show you the wonders contained. The trouble is the words haven’t come and all I’ve been left with is a deadline.

Make no mistake, this film is a stunner, it’s a film that will fill you with thoughts and feelings and make you ponder it. This is the best sort of filmmaking.

I can’t wait to see it again.

Highly recommended.

LITTLE, BIG, and FAR (2024) NYFF 2024

 

Jem Cohen's portrait of an Austrian astronomer who is pondering life and his work after turning 70.

This s a film you have to give yourself over to. Seemingly rambling in structure, the film is more a stream of consciousness tale that takes us into the mind of Karl that shows us clearly how he sees and processes the world. What at times is a film that will make you wonder where it's going, Ultimately comes together into something wondrous.

This is a film that will make you see the world in a new way.

Sunburnt Unicorn (2024) Fantasia 2024

 

While traveling across the desert a father is arguing with his son, Frankie. As a result they end up in a bad car crash When Frankie wakes up, having been thrown from the car he has a large piece of glass in his head making him look like a unicorn. Frankie’s father is gone, he wandered off to get help according to a turtle that was cut in half by the crash.  Deciding to help his dad Frankie heads off to find him.

Strange animated film could only work as an animated film. There is no way anyone would believe the odd turns and semi-dead characters as a live action film. At the same time this mix of survival and philosophy is so unique that I’m not sure who this film is really for, I mean the philosophical musings are going to blow over the head of the preteen set (not to mention parents being wary about a turtle character dragging itself along slowly dying with its intestines hanging out). and the  older kids are not going to go for the measured pace. Who is this film for? I don’t know.

It's not a bad film. I like it. At the same time I’m not sure what I’m supposed to make of it because it just is doing its own thing. Its so its own thing I don’t know how to explain it, I mean it’s like a normal movie, but it isn’t.

Basically it has me tongue tied as I search for words to adequately explain it.

As a one of a kind cinematic experience I love that the film exists, as will anyone who is a long time reader of Unseen Films, but I’m going to be hard pressed to see this playing any where other than festivals like Fantasia.

Highly recommended for those who want to go off the well worn cinematic paths.

Infinite Summer (2024) Fantasia 2024

Miguel Llansó returns with another way out philosophical science fiction film.

This time out the story concerns a young woman named Mia who goes off to meet her friends. They end up using a virtual reality/meditative head set that has un planned for side effects.

If you know Llansó‘s film then you know you are not going to get anything approaching a typical science fiction film. Llansó is a singular voice in cinema (all cinema not just genre) and he freely mixed low tech and high tech with every genre under the sun and any idea that comes into his mind for films that don’t look like, or behave like anything you’ve ever seen. They are films that end up haunting your soul forever because they attach themselves to your very being.

I am a huge fan of Llasnso's films and his skill.

That said I’m still pondering INFINITE SUMMER. The film is completely different than his previous work. It seems to be trying to be “normal” even though it really isn’t.  I think the problem for me is the English dialog doesn’t ring true. It feels like it was written by someone who doesn’t speak the language for people who don’t speak the language. While the dialog in Llansó‘s films can be odd, this seems a bit too odd. I am going to have to see the film again.

My problem with the dialog aside this film is still very good  As with all of Llansó's films it’s a heady mix of ideas and images. It’s a mix that gets under your skin and the final galactic images wow and the broken look of one character as he stands behind police tape is absolutely crushing.

This film is often a stunner and worth a look, especially since you are reading Unseen Films and a lover of films that are great and off the beaten path.

S/HE IS STILL HER/E - The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary (2024) Tribeca 2024

While S/HE IS STILL HER/E - The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary is one of my favorite films of 2024 I don't know if this portrait  artist, philosopher, writer, musician, and generally cool person Genesis P-Orridge is going to connect with most people. It's not that there is anything wrong with the film, rather the film's subject was a one of a kind human. A constantly questing human being who was forever in search of knowledge and experience Genesis was in constant motion and impossible to pin down. The film is much like its subject full of ideas, wisdom and art. It's a film that is the cinematic equivalent of its subject and the closest thing any of us will ever get to spending an evening P-Orridge.

I became aware of Genesis P-Orridge  decades ago when I ran across the music of Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV was put on my radar by some of my friends. "Listen to this" I was told, and I did. And I didn't know what to make of it. Then in the 1990's, thanks to my time drifting through fringe thought I started to run into the philosophical side of Genesis and my mind was opened a bit more. I may not have accepted everything I would hear or read but the ideas opened up doors and sent me on trips to find out more. I also loved that while so many other people were staying in one place Genesis was always questing and always changing as the result of each new discovery.

The film is life and times of Genesis P-Orridge in their own words.From their birth as Neil Andrew Megson on though the various reinventions the film is truly the arc of a life. We see and hear it all and we are left to make sense of it.

I loved it.

I loved that the film lets Genesis talk. There is no real attempt to really to get a view from outside. I've read and seen enough by and about Genesis to know that it is impossible to get a handle on them by listening to anyone other than Genesis P-Orridge. What anyone else has to say is not what Genesis was, rather it would be only what someone else's perceptions are. TO listen to anyone else is limiting. By doing away with anyone else we have a better chance to get to know the person at the heart of the film.

Sitting  down to rewrite this piece some four weeks after I saw the film, I know I'm still trying to make sense of it all. I 'm still staggering through doors the film opened. Unlike most other films this film has haunted me and made me not just engage with it but go to war with it as I replay sections in my head and try to figure out what I saw and what missed and when can I see it again.

I love this film. I love that it challenged me. I love that it showed me a really cool person who kept going and kept trying to figure it all out. I love that, like its subject this film is atypical, challenging and forcing me to engage and think differently.

That's something that is going to scare a lot of people. It's something that many people are not going to want to do. They want safe and S/HE IS STILL HER/E is not safe in the best sort of a way.

If you want a film that will make you do more than sit there and let it wash over you then see this film. If you want safe - go to the multiplex and watch something else.

INTO THE SHAOLIN (2023) DOC NYC 2023

 

Serbian PH.d student serves as our eyes into a Shaolin Monastery in China.

Completely beautiful portrait of the monastery and it’s teachings. It’s a look at a place that has been made legendary by countless martial arts flick.

Stunningly beautiful, this is in many ways a 90 minute commercial for the monastery. Its full of perfectly framed martial arts demonstrations and heading philosophical discussions. This is a film that is going to play in countless Asian Film Festivals because it is the movies made real.

I was for the most part entranced for the whole run time. While I was kind of disappointed in that it didn’t reveal anything I hadn’t seen before, it did delight me in that it took me away from New York for 90 minutes.

Recommended

Thunder (2023)

Elizabeth is called home from a convent. Sent away four years earlier when she was 12, by her father hoping that giving her to god would keep the family safe from tragedy. Unfortunately, Innocente, Elizabeth’s older sister died in a way no one wants to talk about what ever happened (there is an unnamed shame involved). As Elizabeth begins to help her family with life on the farm she searches with questions about her sister and with her own coming of age.

Religious mediation on life and belief THUNDER is a heady art film that feels like a cousin to some of the musings of Terrence Malick. It’s a look at someone trying to find their way in a repressed and oppressive society. Women are supposed to do as they are told and stay in their lane. Those that stray face dire consequences, including ending up wandering the landscape after their death, something Elizabeth’s sister is said to have been fated to do.

I liked THUNDER more than I loved it. It looks great, and it has some great moments, but it is a bit too dower and a bit too meditative for my tastes. Even in an age where religious thought is shaping society this view of the world is not something I could connect to emotionally. For me this was too much of head and not enough of the heart for my tastes. I never disliked it, I just kept wishing that I was emotionally connected to the film.

If you want a heady meditation on life or need something to fill the void until the next Malick comes out, then give THUNDER a shot.

The Way (2010) is getting a one night only screening in theaters May 16

THE WAY is a gift from Emilio Estevez to his father Martin Sheen. It’s a film that is full of deep faith and belief. Nominally it’s a Catholic tale but it is a film that actually transcends being about one religion to speak about anyone’s spiritual quest.

The film is the story about a father (Sheen) who goes to Europe to claim the body of his estranged son (Estevez) who was killed while walking Spain's Santiago de Compostela. After his son’s body is cremated Sheen packs the ashes in his backpack and heads off to complete the journey.

This is a really good movie. Billed as a spiritual film when it was originally released the film developed a strong following among those who saw it but kind of slipped from view since many people thought it was going to be preachy and never took a look. The film is  now returning for a special one night only screening on May 16th and if you’ve never seen it, it really is worth your time.

I have always liked THE WAY. I’ve seen it several times over the years and every time I run across it I tend to stop to watch a couple of minutes…which turns into a trip until the end. Yea it’s one of those.  Far from being preachy the film is instead simply a look at one man trying to find his way out of his own personal darkness and instead finds away to reconnect to life.

This is a lovely little film that will make you feel good and make you want to go out and be among people.

Highly recommended.

Echo Of Everything (2023) Hot Docs 2023

ECHO OF EVERYTHING is a trip. My basic attitude is just buy a ticket and take a ride, but since that doesn’t really work for a review, let me talk for a couple of minutes.

ECHO is a meditation on the nature of music, or it starts off as a meditation/essay on the nature of music and then goes off into all sorts of unexpected places like the meaning of life, the universe and everything. Nominally it is an illustrated talk where director Cam Christiansen‘s talk is illustrated by Andy Curtis in Caligari like make up and segments with different musicians whose music help to illustrate the points he is making.

It’s very hard to really explain what this film is because the film isn’t a film, but a trip. Where we get on to the train of celluloid is not where we get off. The film changes as it goes along. More importantly the film changes us as we go along. Whether you like the film or not the sheer act of seeing  THE ECHO OF EVERYTHING is going to alter your DNA. The questions it raises, and the thoughts it puts before you will force you to engage with them and as you wrestle with the implications of each point your view of “everything” changes. You are not the same person you were at the start.  This isn’t am idle statement, but the truth since each piece of information builds on the last. It’s like a perfectly selected play list of music and ideas meant to your head and heart dancing in a new direction.

I can only imagine what second and third or more viewings will result in since, as I said above, everything builds on everything else.

And while that may make the film sound overly heady, it isn’t. It is instead a fun ride that delights you in the best ways. Its such a blast to just watch, that odds are you aren’t going to realize that it got your mind going until sometime after the end credits have finished rolling and you find you are still thinking about the film.

What an absolute delight.

A must see.

Angel Applicant (2023) SXSW 2023

Writer director and subject Ken August Meyer takes us into his obsession with artist Paul Klee, who's scleroderma matched his own.

I was hooked almost instantly. I had gone into the film thinking it was going to be typical art documentary and instead I found my expectations exploded as the film became a portrait of the director, Klee, the disease, life, philosophy and universe. This is a film that transcends definition to be something so much more.

I absolutely love this film. What I love is that Meyer pulls us in from the opening frame, sits us down serves us tea and cookies and then acts like a great raconteur and explains things to us. We get to know about all sorts of subjects, but not only as cold facts, but as living breathing part of his life. Meyer explains to us what Klee means to him and why he painted the way he did. This isn't a cold recounting of facts but the story of life as its being lived. We understand where the changes came from in Klee's art. More importantly, by connecting everything up to his own struggles Meyer shows us how he views his world. A diagnosis that his lungs are the sort of lungs a 146 year old man has him celebrating his 146th birthday. It sounds  corny but its humbling and moving.

By giving us his view of the world, and of Klee Meyer opens doors for us to see the world differently. He gives us ways to connect up the various part of life. Its a grand achievement.

Highly recommended.

CROWS ARE WHITE (2022) SXSW 2022

Director Ahsen Nadeem goes to isolated Buddhist monastery to find the secret of the universe, or at least deal with a broken heart and ends up tossed out when he interrupts a sacred ceremony. He is then forced to talk to a lesser monk who likes ice cream and heavy metal music. 

Whether you like this film or not will be determined by how you feel about Nadeem, who presents himself as a nebish and plays things for laughs, or if not laughs but a less than serious distance. I began to shake my head when his first question to a monk was whether he was ever in love. I somehow suspected that this was going to not be the sort of film I really liked. I then lost all respect for it when he went into a closed ceremony with his cellphone. I mean he took years to get invited to this is a place where the monks take on challenges where they either complete them or die, and he fucks it up something stupid...

At that moment I wanted to smack him and I lost all respect for him and the film since it felt like a put on.

My problem with the film is not the subject matter or the irreverence, but Nadeem himself. I couldn't determine if he was putting it all on or was just stupid. It's not even the irreverence he has for it all, I can be as irreverent as they come on matters of religion, but  rather he seems like a jerk who uses goofiness to cover up ill preparedness.

Not recommended.

Stanleyville (2021) Fantasia 2021

 

This is going to be short.  Partly because I was asked to do a short review now and longer one later, but mostly because I need time to really ponder this film and find the words to do it justice. 

Nominally this is the story of a woman who runs out on her family and into a contest to win a fancy SUV. The reality is this film is an off kilter examination of life laid out as a kind of spiritual journey.  Its  a film that is operating on a deeper level than it appears on the surface. 

I should mention that the film is slyly funny with some jokes landing a second  two late as you suddenly realize what the joke is.

And I need to  say Julian Richings is magnificent as the man running the contest. He's so good I did not recognize him at first.

This is a truly wonderful film.

Either see it at Fantasia or when the film is released down the road.

Brief thoughts on YOU CAN'T KILL MEME (2021) Fantasia 2021

Simply stated this is a look at how social media and memes are changing the way we think and see the world.

I am going to be very brief  review. I say that because regardless of my feelings this is a film that needs to be seen a second time simply because there is simply too much to take in.(Seriously there is a lot of material here)

This is a heady film. At time it feels like  college dissertation on the state of the internet. At other time it feels like a stream of conscious exploration of  various ideas between friends. And then there are the moments when it feels like we are on a trip. Its a wild ride.

I really like portions of this film and I'm not sure what I think of others. As I said above I need to see this film again.

Is the film worth seeing? If you want to explore the world we live in and potentially understand how we got here it is.

Give it a go.

Seobok (2021) Fantasia 2021

Seobok is the name of a messenger of a Korean emperor who was looking for a means of becoming immortal. It is also the name of the first genetically created clone/hybrid who was designed so that he could never “die”. His cells reproduce  rapidly and he must  take a chemical to slow his cell division. He was also designed to have his tissues and blood harvested as means of giving other people immortality. After his creator is killed in a drone strike the company/government  bring in an agent to protect the boy at all costs. Of course it all goes horribly wrong.

Nihilistic comic infused philosophical action film is nothing we haven’t seen before.  It’s the old “hero must protect the savior” tale gussied up in modern dress (calling Professor X).  Its a lot of talk punctuated with a few kick as action sequences. It is also incredibly nihilistic with our hero having a brain tumor, the reason for Seobok to exist being harvesting and philosophical discussions that will make you want to slit your wrist- and I won’t even talk about the ending.

I was mostly bored. Yea the action is great but there isn’t enough to overcome the leaden pacing and the sense we’ve seen all of this before.

If you must see every action film give it ago other wise you can skip it.

Bernstein's Wall (2021) Tribeca 2021

I suspect the fact I tweeted "Watching BERNSTEIN'S WALL and feeling I'm communing with God It is a religious experience" right after I finished  amused some people. The thing is  that is how I feel about the film. It is a religious experience, perhaps not for you, but for me absolutely.

Leonard Bernstein was held in high regard by my family. My grandfather who was a composer loved him, my grandmother loved him and my aunt, who was like a second mother to me made damn sure we knew he was and what he was doing. She made sure we saw the televised young people's concerts so that we got more out of music. As a result we understood the importance of music and the arts but also connecting with the music and feeling something. And I am talking about honestly and truly feeling something.

The need to feel the emotion, or in this case feel a film is a big part of BERSTEIN'S WALL. It begins and ends with the maestro talking about and and playing Beethoven's 9th Symphony, which ends with Ode to Joy. What begins with an explanation of what the music means to him ends with us watching him as he conducts the piece and he FEELS every damn note. It is a religious experience for him as well as us.

In between the sections of the 9th we get to see the arc of Bernstein's life. For him it is a magical experience that has him connecting with people and events all over the world. It is a journey that Bernstein lays out for us via interviews, lectures and performances that force us to not only reexamine his life but our own. How is it that he could be so in touch with all of life around him? I don't now but I want to try.

What I love about this film is that it is one part biography and one part work of art. Yes we get the story of a life, but because Bernstein is seen explaining his life, his work and the music he loves, the film is lifted up into a higher realm. He aren't talking about just his life, but all life. This isn't something just here on earth but something more. This film transcends just being a biography because it touches your being and gives you a view into the realm where art heals the soul.

I am beyond words about this film. It is a masterpiece that I want to watch over and over again not because I want to know about how he came to do this or that but because Bernstein's words open doors and give me hope  that the world can be a better place.

There is a discussion in the film as to whether an artist can change the world? Can art, whatever type change the world? One need only see what Leonard Bernstein did and how he influenced all that came out after him  to know it's true.

One of the very best films of 2021.

A must see.

KATA (2021) Tribeca 2021

One of the best films at Tribeca and 2021 is a six minute look into the mind of 13 year old karate champion. Its an explanation of why she practices the art.

The film is a stunner.  Not only is it just a good film, but it is a one of the best explorations of a philosophy that I have ever seen. I am not just talking about narrative films, rather I’m talking about documentaries and lectures. In its brief run time KATA says volumes more perfectly and precisely than pretty much every long film on the subject.

I can’t recommend this film enough.

A masterpiece of the highest order 

Heinz Emigholz Double Feature THE LOBBY and THE LAST CITY NYFF 2020

 The New York Film Festival is running two films by Heinz Emigholz. If you ever wanted to know what a filmmaker's voice is like these are films to see because everyone, in both films, all sound like the same person. While both films have interesting ideas the presentation may leave some people cold, especially if they want films with action rather than ideas.

THE LOBBY

An older white guy speaks of life, death and assorted other subjects.

This intriguing meta monologue is a mind trip and frequently funny. This is a film that is full of truth and bullshit. Because the film is fully away that it is both things it makes it much less pretentious than it probably should be. This is the sort of thing that if it were transferred to the stage wold probably run for years Off Broadway in a small house

I was fascinated and amused. I don't need to see it again but I would definitely want to read it.

THE LAST CITY

Series of intellectual conversations set in various cities across the globe that are really supposed to be the last city of the title. The subjects concern a variety of subjects including many religion, sex, family, taboos and aliens.

Mannered and deliberate discussions are intriguing, for the most part, more for hat is being said rather than the delivery which comes across as if it one person cloned having a discussion with themselves. None of the characters really have their own existence and are purely a means of having the ideas come out as a discussion instead of a monolog. 

I was fascinated by the ideas even as I was less than thrilled with the mannered presentation. I know there has to be a better way of doing it this rather than having the stilted delivery we have here. I know that is part of the point. bt at the same time it made this 100 minute film a tough go and I found I had to watch it in pieces rather than all at once.

LOOKING FOR A LADY WITH FANGS AND A MOUSTACHE (2020) Tribeca 2020

You won't understand it if I explain it simply so I'll make it complicated - a monk explains to Tenzin about how he can save his life

Tenzin has been having strange dreams and visions of a young girl. Sometimes she is in a field of flowers and sometimes not. He is so haunted by her he is having trouble focusing on finding a place to open his coffee house in Kathmandu. A friend of his says it maybe an omen and after consulting with a monk Tenzin is told he has a week to live. If he wants to avert his fate he must find a certain kind of mystical being.

As unwieldy as my explanation of the plot is, the reality is this is a smooth flowing spiritual quest of a film. Putting us in a particular place and particular time, we are travelers with Tenzin on his spiritual quest for enlightenment, or at least a reconnection to the world.

As much as Tenzin is desperately trying to find the "lady with the fangs and a moustache" he is also on a quest to reconnect with the world. Everything in his life is focused on making money. What will be the best place for his coffee shop?  Never mind that it is an abandoned, but still holy temple, maybe that will do. And maybe, perhaps the goddess cursed him as a result, or maybe he just ventured too far into the world of the yellow haired people. His drive to making money is stepping on toes and beliefs an whether gods are real or not he is bumping into things people hold dear.

The lessons here are quiet and accumulate. It's a series of ah ha moments not bone shaking thunderbolts. The reality is it takes time for Tenzin to change and it takes time for us to do so as well.

Beautifully shot by Mark Lee Ping-bing (In the Mood for Love) the film is a love song to the world with everything, every moment being perfectly rendered. This is life in balance even if Tenzin's isn't.

Director Khyentse Norbu, a Lama himself, has fashion philosophical journey that melds Nepalese thought with the modern world through a beautifully written script that he has augmented with a kick ass music score. Traditional songs meld with music from people like Tom Waits. And a small thing that I love is that Norbu doesn't use pieces of songs, but more often than not he sets an sequence to one song. It's a small thing but it is vitally important to keeping us in the moment.

As with Norbu's earlier film VARA: A BLESSING this is a film that you need to see rather than read about. It is like a looking at a picture of a fabulous place. To be certain the picture can show you the beauty but it can't make you feel what it is like to be physically there, especially after the journey to it.

LOOKING FOR A LADY... is a stunner and highly recommended. It is one of ym favorites of the year.

The Reach of Resonance (2010) (A Stay At Home Fest Bonus review)

I tell people I make unpopular music

Ten years before director Steve Elkins made the powerful ECHOES OF THE INVISIBLE he made his first feature film THE REACH OF RESONANCE about different sourced music. What do I mean by that, one composer uses electric pulses given off by plants in her compositions, another uses sounds made by fences and man made objects, another finds musical patterns in the way people react in events such as riots,  others create ad-libbed animated films, yet another tutns what we think of as "normal" musical instruments on their head. The idea is to make music that transcends the typical and connect it up to life and the world around us in ways that are magically alive.

I am not going to lie to you and tell you that everything you hear in this film will please your ear. Under normal circumstances it's tough enough to know what people will like, so with a film like this it is going to be nigh impossible to know how you will react. Personally a lot of it is noise to me and while I appreciate what produced it, I really don't like it.

On the other hand, and this is the important part, the ideas that generate the music, the desire to connect to the world and its sounds and rhythms are  the things that made me watch the film several times over a couple of days (and I rarely ever do that). The first time through I was floored.  So much was given to me to think about that I when the film ended I just stared at the screen trying to process it. For me this was like a grand banquet where you want to try every dish and then find half way in it's too much but you can't stop watching it. My second time through was a similar experience, but not quite so bad since I started to connect up bits and pieces. The third time through I stopped and started it fully taking in the bits in each section and letting the bits on transcribing riots or using plants to derail trains to fully sink in.

To be honest I still am pondering this film, and I am still trying to tie it all together. Like Elkins' most recent film REACH brings together  a great deal of things into a intriguing look at the world and how we can see it, which in this case is as a kind of giant musical instrument. But while saying that is a kind of right it is also kind of wrong. Elkins is not really looking at things quite the simply, he is looking for a greater truth, at the interconnectedness of the world, and at how the resonances generated by every day objects influence the rest of the world while producing unexpected patterns. On most levels I think he found it, though I know I'm still struggling to fully piece it together and find the words to express what it means to me.  That last sentence is not any indication of a flaw in the film, but a flaw in myself, in that I am trying to still see the forest and the trees since I am trying to to focus on the pieces while seeing the whole. I think I need to put the film down and look at something else for a while.

THE REACH OF RESONANCE is a heady film.  Like the music that it highlights, it is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. I am not going to suggest that you will love every moment of it, but I do think that you will love bits of it. What is more important to liking or not liking the film is that I think that the film will get you to think differently, to see the world with different glasses.

Steve Elkins in a genius and his films are highly recommended.

THE REACH OF RESONANCE is currently available on VOD (Amazon has it). A DVD/Bluray release is coming shortly.