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Reviews
Entity of Haze (2010)
He Exists
Arguably a very joyous film, Entity Of Haze is the story of a young gardener who's active removal from a 'reality' leads him to slip into another; a reality of grass, dirt, leaves, sunlight, plants, care, desire and potential loneliness. This young man walks through the large fields and spaces, lying down against the warm grass, his hands gripping and tear at the ground; his own frustration and push for a further desire to 'feel' in this world.
The sunlight brings the canopies of trees to life, but its different, not quite the same as one would see this event. Everything is lost in some detachment. Some blur of this natural environment, perhaps mirroring his own state, perhaps not. Perhaps this is just some memory, some feeling that he is unable to feel anymore.
The man returns home, through the green, and into his wildly overgrowing garden. He walks to a small over grown greenhouse at the end of the garden. He enters and trims some of the plants that are overgrowing. He does this with care and attention, but since they are all overgrown, almost pointless, as if his acts are just murmurs or a memory of what he used to do there. Suddenly, as he exits, a large beam of light marks through the tree canopies and soaks the small over grown greenhouse. Just as soon as this chance act occurs, it is gone.
The young gardener returns to finish some other duties, he chops wood into a pile. The sounds are very natural, the crunch of the wood and the snap and crackle of the bark; this is very satisfying for him. He discovers a rose, he clips it. The camera frees itself from observant static standing and lifts with the young gardener's hands as he carries the rose. Something has changed here, potentially another memory, another murmur of what has happened.
We are presented with a young woman, her hair dark like soil and standing in an old shed or alcove. The dust from the wood floats in the air with the pollen from the trees. Is she really there, or is this idea of love for this young man, just some horrible dreamlike murmur that he must live through in a variety of ways?
Perhaps this haze is the distant call of a better reality, a better life, this is pointless for the young gardener as he is unable to reach or exist in it. He will only see it in the distance, beyond the trees and under the grass, in the sunlight and in reflections. Happiness in life is unobtainable for this man.
Grey (2008)
Memories. Age. Life. Family. Isolation. Reflection. Memories.
Memories. Age. Life. Family. Isolation. Reflection. Memories.
The short film "Grey" contains all of these things, as it depicts an old man in pursuit of something (an answer perhaps, to a question that he has asked himself). He sits under a thick canopy of trees and stares out into a long river that is flowing in front of him. Bare trees twist and melt in the rivers murky water. Pondweed and flies infest the surfaces nearest to the riverbank. Car headlights pour slowly past in the distance, he is oblivious to these things. This man does not even see the flies or the slight shimmer of the water as the sun catches it. He sees a port. He sees a large ocean liner crawl past. He sees a young couple and their dog, reflected in the water.
Shot in sharp black and white (the colors of mourning), this film studies life and personal history. It is about a man who is, in many ways, like the cinema. He uproots history and projects it with human bias. The man recalls his own history through his memories of his family and other moments that haunt him. Perhaps these are incidents and personal thoughts that span decades; surmised in a short breath that in a current context holds an answer to a question that is troubling him. Nonetheless, he sits alone and reflects; content in isolation, the surrounding environment stirring memories and lost images of his past, of his history, of his longing.
Nightfall (2008)
Nightall
This film opens and closes on a woman's face. One, an aging portrait of an aging woman; the second, an actual woman close to tears. The irony here, although not a blatant one, is that the body of the film concentrates on a young man who is going through a trauma. Objectively, the decision is unrested as to whether this 'trauma' is independent of both these women.
Nightfall introduces a darkness only lit by street-lamps, casting shadows across empty roads and walkways from which a man walks. The trees tower above him and their foliage is still, motionless, observant.
The man's home is still and empty, much like the pathways and roads. One is then confronted with the basic tasks of this man's night, such as making himself a meal. While the food seems exotic and vibrant, it is presented as a bland and monotonous dish, as it's natural color is denied through the sepia tone.
One could add that the choice of shooting through a sepia tone obviously leaves the spectator with a complete lack of color and of a definite black and white. Therefore one could suggest that these factors incidentally reveal the bleak, 'grey side of life'. The events of this man's life, and especially his meal are far from a colorful feast. He robotic adds the monotone ingredients in a nonchalant manner, and stands over the boiling pots like a scientist. There is no love in this meal.
Furthermore the moment of eating this meal is reduced to mere consumption through a complete destruction of ceremony and romanticism. This is achieved through destroying the scene by a heavy film grain. One could also add that there is a close association with the character and the language of the film. This takes on a pathetic fallacy on a pure cinematic level; note that the film grain completely destroys the dining scene because the man is completely unhappy. He is not content, therefore the film is not content. The film could therefore be seen as part of this man's 'point of view'. Thus making the film a highly subjective vision, but due to the non-conclusive narrative this film remains very 'objective'.
Nightfall could be seen as both formalistic and non-formalistic, and half of the shots are framed by definite, bold and symmetrical lines (both horizontal and vertical) while the other half (framed still within this symmetry) is of shadow and non symmetrical shapes. The majority of the film is lit using diffused natural light (at night), making objects and definite lines hard to see. One could agree that this adds to the overall state of anxiety, loss and hopelessness, because visually there is a sense of being 'lost'.
The sound is completely Diegetic and sets the tone of realism, anchoring to viewer to this one house. The camera does not give room for the viewer to breathe or look away as he/she is forced into dialog with extreme close-ups of boiling water, pasta and the man's uncertain face. Also the portrait of the unknown woman is presented frequently in close-up. In these close-ups, the screen is crawling with a heavy film grain and blemishes and with this the face looks like it is moving or motioning to the viewer.
When the morning finally arrives there is no sense of relief. A visitor arrives at the door. It would appear that this woman shares the same problem and that there is a common understanding. The film ends, nobody will never know what has happened or what will happen to this man in his life. But one at least has experienced a single night of his life with him. This is a very personal film.
To conclude, Nightfall is a marriage of the objective and the subjective, leading towards a humble sense of truth. A truth which this film and all products of lens-based media strive towards.
Light and Quiet (2008)
Debut Feature
These people, this city and these tasks provide a distraction and perhaps evoke a rare whimsical side to his nature. But in the end it is this human nature that will alienate him from all of those whom he knows (be they crooks, radicals or cultural gangsters). He will be left alone, back to his hotel room to recede into his madness. The ideas of servitude and class play a very strong roll in the film. The first sign of this could be seen in the introduction of the hotel seen through the bus boy. He is presenting The Man with his morning coffee and telling him that he has no mail. The Man then gets changed and spends his day (a sit could be assumed that he spends everyday) smoking, washing and staring into space, often reading books and writing notes. The most productive of these activities is always interrupted by a visitor. This visitor makes him aware of a transporting job he could do for him. Throughout the film The Man transports what appears to be a violin/musical instrument and a camera. These are cultural instruments and could be outlawed in this strange city. The omnipresence of men and the non-appearance of women or any signs of femininity could be seen as a strong idea in the film. Perhaps this is central to The Man's anguish and despair. Maybe even the film (as a form itself) is in despair because of this exclusion of the female in any form, and in response to this, severely critical of The Man and the male characters in the film. But one may rest with the conclusion that the film (as a medium/form) is a scientific analysis of its characters, linking perhaps female exclusion to the male characters and their sterile business-like-yet brotherly bond and their individual self-destructive natures. In this atmosphere a woman would be unable to exist, their void is filled with cigarette smoke. But the film as a character itself, maybe attacking its own images (jump cuts/ sound/ blur and focus/ lines and lack of round contours associated with women) in retaliation. Because, at The Man's large and empty hotel room, a woman would surely shrivel and die. This may be the key to his anguish, and by not being present, the very idea of a woman maybe ubiquitous, and through the cinema as a character and not just as a form, it may even be unconsciously mourned. The Man, who rarely interacts (avoiding handshakes at times etc), finally immerses himself into the outside culture by opening the parcel that he is to transport. It is a camera. He assembles it and begins to take photographs, but this will be his doom. For no sooner does he interact by exploring the possibilities of photography and furthermore going straight to the address of one of the men in charge, that he has alienated himself. He is seen perhaps only as a courier and must not meddle with anything. Furthermore, it is when he discovers the camera (photography) that he is disregarded by the others as a 'meddler', for they are cultural fascists not 'artists' or liberators of the image. He is just a simple courier, a man who transports their goods, nothing more. The language of cinema could be seen as the main protagonist as it is the most active character throughout and in moments draws attention solely to itself. It is in this language that one can find the autonomous existence of both the image and the sound. Most notably all of the dialog has been erased and has been replaced with captions. Through these caption slates one can understand the conversations that are unfolding and one can watch the characters slowly turn on The Man. The audio used is rarely associated closely to the image shown. The sounds of cars and streets can be heard throughout as characters converse, providing a kind of objectivity that the audience can access. The sounds are loud and quiet and are treated like a piece of music that adds to the tension or melancholy presented through the image. The camera is one of a microscope. It analysis characters critically, and with that, the images themselves (with characters and commotion) could almost be understood on their own. The humanity of the individual characters shines through, even in the text/dialog. In two sequences the camera watches a game of chess in the immediate foreground while a conversation manifests in the background. The focus is switched between the two and in moments the movements of pieces coincide with the characters in the background. This absurd notion could be seen as both simply humorous and structuralist, a wedding of humor and Mise en scene that nods tongue-in-cheek to the type of film language that is being deployed (the use of jump cuts and focus are also notable throughout- in sound as well as image). The constructs are naked and unmasked. The film is bookended with the anguish and despair of The Man (he is often left in tears or staring lifelessly). This is the one certainty of the film. The film changes from strict formalism to non-formalism. In the final shot one sees a motorway at night. The sounds of cars finally catch up with the image of the cars as they pass. One could note that one is seeing what one is hearing. The image and sound are one at last but not quite. With complete reverse focus, the image could be understood to have been transformed. It is no longer a simple image of cars and light. One can see only tiny discs of light as they travel around the frame. Are these cars? Is this a motorway? The possibilities of vehicles look like pennies sliding around in an x-ray machine. The headlamps shine and fuse like transparent buttons in an osmosis of light. While the sound is a quiet hum of breeze and engine.
Strand (2009)
Memory
Shot in stark black and white, the film deals with images of love, friendship, separation, loneliness and isolation; a 'strand' of life in modern day Iran. The story weaves through the city and into the heart of the mountains where a heavy mist crawls.
It could be seen that bonds and ties between people are paramount. The juxtaposition of nature and the urban universe is explored throughout. Nature is shown isolated at first, and then slowly and gradually, one is presented with a character from the city, and upon this meeting, the forms of mountaintops merge into the forms of the built environment. More characters begin to seep through the scenery, and one is permitted to sit in on groups of friends as they converse mutely. From a close-knit group one is eventually left with small clusters of people reacting, possibly talking about things and perhaps themselves. Eventually one is left with extremely isolated characters, isolated in mise-en-scene, and from their friends. While the built environment slowly swallows the setting, the sounds are purely natural ones: sounds of running water, crunching twigs and of birds singing. Eventually the rural landscape is presented once again, bookending the images and setting the characters in a rural community that is pure in idea and in natural atmosphere. This could be seen as a completely different image of contemporary Iran than what is projected in the contemporary mass media.
As characters laugh and talk, the natural mountainous landscapes surf and swallow the frame. The characters sit at a campfire and discuss topics, and as it grows dark, only the sounds of dusk-light bird calls can be heard. They tell stories and strengthen the flames in their camp and the night continues, only the light of the fire keeping them as the darkness surrounds the landscape. As night falls, the simple silhouetted mountains become stark forms of black and the image is alive with grain, intensifying the once plain sky, like mania of flying insects to accompany the bats and night birds.
Almost immediately is one interrupted with the jolt of a power hose as a man brings his car through a car wash. At this point one is now almost entirely immersed in the metropolis of urban Iran. This could be seen as stressing for an audience as they have been for 16minutes born unto the countryside and now stare into an unknown world of cars, beeping horns and the hustle and bustle of city life, all seen for the first time through the distorted windows of the car as the water spills down the glass.
Throughout, bare branches are shown sprawled across the frame, as traffic and people crawl between them. Mechanics work, and old men sit and yawn as the commotion spills by. There could be a sense of longing here as images of the mountains and the countryside are interspersed. This sense of longing is realized as the narrative is interrupted with old super eight footage of a family preparing what seems to be a birthday party. The image is worn and old and it hangs on in the memory of the countryside as a heavy fog swallows all of the trees. An aging dog sits chained to a tree. A sheet of scrap metal beside him haggard earth all around. The dog's eyes are weary but alert constantly watching the audience, observing them. Characters are reintroduced as the sound of a flowing stream begins once again. A young man looks worried as the fog moves slowly closer and closer over the hills.
The super eight footage begins for a second time but it reveals more. It is a baby's birthday. Perhaps it is one of the characters from the city. The motifs of nature unfold once more as a father lifts the child into the foliage of a tall tree. Children sit and hold one another. Families sit and talk together, playing with their loved ones. The sound of a running tap or water trickles and slaps into the images. By now the mist and fog have swallowed most of the countryside, trees and mountains are lost forever; leaving only the memory of this place, these people, this family, this life.
Now & Forever (2008)
Minimal Approach
One could interpret Now & Forever in many different ways and that is the power of the film. It is a film of sadness and loneliness presented through the actualities of one man's life.
While this story could have been conclusive in its resolve through presenting a very simplistic story of love; it is not. The film begins with a strange sense of void and loneliness, moving into moments of real desire and happiness; finally the darkness resurfaces as the film ends. While the film is shot in luminous color (a motif of green stands throughout) there is a dominant dark presence, a sense of unease surrounding the films 'pure' aesthetic intentions.
One could suggest that the narrative of the film is highly objective and open to interpretation. Furthermore at its core it is a fairly basic story. However, the language of cinema employed to weave such a tale could be deemed rather complex (e.g.: extreme close ups, long takes (one lasts 13minutes), Diegetic sound, symmetrical framing). One could add that it is this combination of basic story premise and complex film elements that add to the overall sense of minimalism, and even realism.
Now & Forever has a simple plot, a young man leaves an apartment, whether it is his or not is unknown. He meets his girlfriend (who remains unseen and unheard for the duration) beside a canal/riverbank. He explains his situation and his underlining deep care and love for her. He says goodbye and he walks off alone.
One could interpret that it is the film's purpose to show you this man. He is expressing feelings that others express everyday. He is explaining why he feels the way that he feels; he is exploring his emotions. The viewer is sat right next to this man (in a close-up) and is made sit through his conversation. It could be said that through this process, one can relate to him and what he says, form opinions about him and his relationship. According to the man, this girl is "not full of filth and depression, but she is a very happy person".
The viewer never sees the girl nor does the viewer even hear her talk or interact with the protagonist, the audience may be convinced that she is sitting there, staring back at him, loving him. Or not. She might not even exist.
This film, shot in luminous color with its overall 'brightness' may well be presenting a tale of a man in love. Or is it a tale of a mentally-ill man who cannot find time to talk to his goldfish because he has a date with himself on a canal bench. There is always a darkness.
This could may well be a story of a man that is so detached from himself, due to personal worries; that he must in return analyze himself until he reaches some semblance of closure. Something which he may have found in the end but the viewer never does.