Filed under: Viewings
Screened as part of the Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, this is a short film is part of a trilogy, of which this is the only I saw. Best described as a structuralist / portraiture piece, it consists of blown out, directly lit shots of the audience at a hardcore concert.
So much light in such darkness, it’s a little like lifting a rock and revealing the bugs beneath: Used to the privacy and secrecy of the shade, what is seen can be a little jarring. Watching these kids in what the director calls a “collective freak-out,” I’m reminded of an experience I had when I was able to view an adoring rock audience from behind the stage. It’s thrilling peering into world not meant for you, and also reflexively scary, thinking of how each of us must look in such disarming moments.
But this is noise rock, and the mood is purely drugged-out and trance-inducing. It’s hard not to be hypnotized watching this performance, and the filmmaker’s notes about achieving a ritual of “the highest spirtiual order” can not be denied. This is religious stuff, and Russell’s in-your-face film style gets right into it.
This film, inexplicably, is available in the iTunes Store, as part of the Sundance Short Films package, so cough up $1.99 for filmic transcendence.
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