Short Film Review “The Freedom of Uselessness” It is the stuff of life, a deeply experimental exploration of un-ambition, world-weariness, and appreciating simply BEING
WATCH THE TRAILER BELOW:
First, the Recap:
The grind. Each and every day the majority of us in this world awaken, the culmination of our night’s rest is facing a new day going to work, exerting our mental and/or physical efforts, hoping that all we pour into our daily tasks will appease our bosses and, ideally, perhaps increase our paychecks. Yet, in the times where this routine becomes so overtly tedious and numbing, have we ever truly thought about what it would be like to genuinely rebel against the workaday reality we simply accept as “the norm”??
Let’s take, for example, a completely harmless pair of moss balls named Bubba and Spoiled (played by, well, themselves Bubba & Spoiled). They just exist. In a bowl of water. Sitting there in a suspended state of utter, absolute, total nothingness, having absconded from any sense of motive, purpose….or usefulness. Even as they find this the state of affairs their lives will forever hold, could it be that they serve as a grander statement to precisely AVOID what we so desperately strive, often stress ourselves out over for an entire lifetime….the NEED to be of service??
Next, my Mind:
Ok. SO……..
That might be the shortest, and somewhat incomplete, declaration I have EVER, EVER, EVER made to initiate my thoughts on a given film I’ve had the opportunity to watch and then review. What I HAVE stated many a time when exploring the realm that is independent cinema remains intact, however….it is bold, daring, sometimes unflinchingly experimental, and always reflects the unique (and in this case highly eccentric!) heart, mind, spirit, and soul of the filmmakers behind it all. This most ASSUREDLY applies (especially the “experimental” part!) to this 10-minute short film excerpt (explanation coming) arriving through directors/producers Samuel Felinton and Declan Mungovan that puts a definitive, undeniable, and wholeheartedly ORIGINAL look at the human condition through the “eyes” of two inanimate objects one would NEVER associate WITH our own existence, least of all in the context of what it IS to BE functioning in this crazy world.
The narrative here is honestly the most simplistic one you could find via showcasing a journey that is quite literally “following” the two “lives” of dual moss balls immersed in their water bowl and just “watching” time pass…independent, uncommitted, impartial, and relishing a state of all-encompassing, wholly intentional inaction. Now here’s some important information to absorb. The FULL film in question is quite literally one hundred days in length, now officially becoming the longest recorded film out there, and of which this review is covering a mere 10-minute segment of. Mind you, the film’s FULL trailer is also now the longest ever made, with a total runtime of….wait for it, folks….TEN HOURS!! There’s apparently even a “Director’s Cut” of the entire film that runs for a total of one hundred and fifteen days!!
The next understanding to have is that the “action” is almost exclusively fixed, with only mild fluctuations to be had, here only being a transition from daytime to nighttime footage of said moss balls…in their watery confinement…unchanging…unmoving…and theoretically pondering their nothingness and idleness placed against the chaos of the world’s consistent expectations upon us. Per the directors themselves, the film “is grounded in Taoist philosophy, particularly the concept of wu wei, which emphasizes non-striving, effortless action, and allowing events to unfold naturally.” Hence the concept is to illustrate the pursuit of living in and of itself while being liberated from perceived or actual constraints, conventions, and mandates we might experience in our own striving for validation, success, even perhaps an unhealthy sense of self-worth that propels us to fall into a trap of being virtually subjugated to the world instead of in balance with it.
Given the philosophical roots this film finds its foundational principals on, the scary thing is that when looking at it FROM the viewpoints being listed above….this film MAKES SENSE! BUT, I know there would be many a filmgoer out there who would just take this 10-minute short excerpt and not even wish to acknowledge that it represents an actual film at all. While this critic will freely admit I couldn’t immediately see myself enduring the FULL feature version of this effort, I’ve seen enough experimental cinema to plainly profess that this IS a film, no matter how far outside the mainstream/traditional definitions of the craft propose. Will something like this be for everyone? NOT even CLOSE to true, again just being frank. BUT, this really should NOT take away from this exercise in consummate nonconformity, sheer audacity, and unmitigated creativity the project projects. Visually…it’s the MBs plus a table, misc items, and a digital clock. Period.
After all, for the “characters” involved, doing nothing IS doing SOMETHING. Thematically then, this and other notions about OUR greater humanity, absconding from that which has been more damaging than constructive for us, release from the pressures, emotional exertions, and overt requirements that are placed upon us, and subsequently learning to take the TIME to RELAX, LET GO, and just BE are all elements we can extrapolate from this….WHEN we really stop and THINK about what is being depicted. THAT alone could be construed as one of the film’s larger challenges to us, because if we ARE real with ourselves, how many moments do you have where the thought of just lying back in a sensory deprivation tank to feel unconfined, carefree, and sublimely happy in, again, just BEING do we wish could occur? Just like two moss balls…in a bowl…on a table…”watching” things just pass on by without any concern about a thing.
As there aren’t any true actors to critique here (NO offense, moss balls, but your “acting” isn’t THAT difficult, wouldn’t you agree?), I believe I must just go to….so, in total, “The Freedom of Uselessness” is a truly fantastic portrait of precise, inventive, exceptionally avant-garde experimental filmmaking as only would be birthed from the minds found within the indie community’s stable of talent, willing to go in a direction most wouldn’t dare explore, and provide a surreal, existential, philosophical adventure in nothingness via very unlikely objects of focus. It is what it is, people, like it or not. I must confess…I DO like it. In a SMALL dose like this only, though. Still, KEEP creating, boys, keep creating! Because I still feel that the grander filmgoing masses need a little jolt of the wild, weird, and peculiar to shake them up a bit! Watch at your own risk of unanticipated enlightenment!
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
