Atmo HorroX (Pat Tremblay, 2016)

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼ out of 10☼

Weird and absurd to the (breaking) point of making you baffled and somewhat frustrated by the overabundance of acidic weirdness and no-holds-barred absurdity (that occasionally outstay their welcome), Atmo HorroX appears as a raving mutant child born out of the unholy union between satirical schlock horror-comedy and crypto-alchemical avant-garde phantasmagoria, proudly boasting delightfully garish color palette, decidedly outdated yet refreshingly cool practical effects, cartoonish, incomprehensible gibberish standing for dialogue and complemented by propulsive, trip-inducing musical score, as well as a good deal of hyper-bizarre, have-to-be-seen-to-be-believed characters who alienize and scrutinize media and pharmaceutical industry with crazy names such as Catafuse, Molosstrap, Mistor Kvelttt and Spheretule Mother.

This review is based on the screener provided by Pat Tremblay and the film is available (no rent, purchase only) at Vimeo on Demand.

(B)right Disturbances (The Rise of Pornocracy)

"The man-horse troubled me. I sensed he would lead me into a trap and that I should not have followed him." (Jean Cocteau, The Testament of Orpheus)

 

She let the world know the symmetry had been broken.

Nobody could recognize her face...

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(S)light Disturbances (Co-Conspirators of Pleasure)

An attempt at enlightenment through de-vulgarization of pornography. Sensitive viewers are advised to avert their eyes from the content of (once) erotic nature.

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The Metamorphic Portrait of Jann Clavadetscher

It is always an immense pleasure to experience, explore and eventually write about the unconventional films, especially when they are signed by EFS filmmakers, so the same goes for Jann Clavadetscher whose diversified oeuvre I touch upon in my most recent article. You can read it at the official page of EFS publications:

The Metamorphic Portrait of Jann Clavadetscher

Still shots from

Remembering (2008) | Kish (2014)

Controle No. 6 (2015) | Kino Hospital (2017)

A Disobedient Poem (for Colliding Storms)

A Disobedient Poem is my (hopefully, both witty and lyrical) gift to 'the latest mutant child to be born from the ungodly marriage of The Underground Film Studio & Experimental Film Society'. In other words, this humble piece of artwork is the answer to (instead the review of) Clara Pais, Daniel Fawcett and Maximilian Le Cain's collaborative short film - a delightfully nutty home video by way of esoteric/fragmented phantasmagoria - Two Storms Collide which was shot in the company of EFS members, during the snow storm of last February, in Dublin.

A Disobedient Poem

Two storms collide, and the Black Sun does not abide
by the flickering lights that hide under the bed. Divide,
by all means divide the wild mind into Jekyll & Hyde,
and follow the Honey Guide into the Old Unidentified.
Then ride, ride far away from the Suicide, ‘cause inside
the Bright Void you’ll find – yourself, utterly mystified.
Naked and purified, deny the answer that was clarified
and lay, nullified, with Odd Poets unified, side by side.
 

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Two Storms Collide (2018) is available on the official Vimeo channel of the Underground Film Studio, just follow this link.

'Stream of Thorns' Triptych

Warning yellows, naughty reds,

now it's time to take your meds.

Sleepy shadows loose the Blue,

stay away from Drops of Goo.

 The Terraforming of Rose-Red Neologisms

 The Annoyance of Annoying the Annoyed

The Finalization of Pseudo-Socialization

Praxinoscope (Rouzbeh Rashidi, 2012)

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼ out of 10☼

 

 

When you look into the etymology of the word praxinoscope (the 19^th century animation device that succeeded zoetrope), you'll find that it can be roughly translated as 'action viewer'. And the action we view in Rashidi's Praxinoscope could be interpreted as the director's reaction to romantic dramedy conventions which he applies in order to defy them or rather, adjust them to 'an unpredictable essay on cinematic form', as the official synopsis informs us.

Opening with an extremely poetic sequence which operates as a loving, virtuoso homage to Alexander Sokurov (soft focus, image distortions, glacial pacing and predominately earthy tones of the color palette), the film takes us on a journey back and forth through the history/memories of cinema. At certain points, it leaves us baffled by strange mélanges such as 'German Expressionism by way of La Nouvelle Vague', yet the numerous references that betray Rashidi's enviable knowledge of his predecessors' work rarely feel overbearing.

In the atmosphere of intimate detachment (or detached intimacy?) and frequently shifting, docu-fiction-esque 'reality', we follow a young man (subtly portrayed by Zulfikar Filandra, also credited as the soundscapist) on his (hopeless?) pursuit of love... or so it seems. If we compare his story to a peculiarly structured and rhythmically complicated song, we will notice four verses 'speaking' of his first, longest and most turbulent relationship (Alma Sabanadzovic), one for the sweet, short-lived affair (Julia Gelezova) and another one for the blind date / encounter with an ex-darling (Atoosa Pour Hosseini), with jazzy bridge (involving a street musician played by composer Wojciech Hupert), pseudo-choruses and final two verses depicting his turmoil, maybe even mental breakdown. The epilogue which sees the apparently upset protagonist exploring an abandoned boat indicates that the latter assumption might be true.

The guy's transformation from a smiling Don Juan into a human wreck is represented via the series of static, rigorously composed long takes of ascetic beauty, with usually no more than two figures appearing in the frame. Sporadically punctuated by black screens while accompanied by utter silence, muffled humming, dissonant trumpet solos or looming clouds of gloom-inducing noise, Rashidi's stark, increasingly melancholic imagery is woven into a fragmented narrative that needs no words to convey the drama... or the flickering illusion of it.

Praxinoscope is available for rent or purchase at Vimeo on Demand.