WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Welcome, citizen. Are you tired of the same old escapes when life just has you down? Always venturing to the places you’ve always turned to when it’s simple time to get away from the hum drum of usual, routine, normal life? Do you just need a break? Well, forget about staying on the ground when you can enjoy a space-based excursion of your very own solar system! How, might you ask, this possible? Well, look no further than The Exoplanet Travel Bureau! We’ll take care of your every cosmic need and send you off to planetary bliss courtesy of packages that will allow you the opportunity to see single wonders or maybe even the magnificence of our four planet Grand Tour! Yes, it’s all true and available by booking with the ETB! Hey, what are you still sitting there for?? Plan your celestial adventure–NOW!
Next, my Mind:
With many of the more in depth, philosphical, obscure, surreal, and abstract (yes, those words have been needed a LOT during this critic’s writings for BIEFF!) efforts taking some higher levels of consideration to allow their content to sink in and bring about their respective thematic enlightenments to the surface, it was undoubtedlty a beautifully timed wonder to see the purely fun, whimsical, music-video-based stylings of indie pop music duo Potion (aka: writer/director/producer/animator/musician Annie Maley and musician Michel Diaz de Bedoya) and producer Gringo Starr Productions, through their 5-minute “infomercial” short film that screened at the 2nd Annual 2019 Berlin Illambra Experimental Film Festival shown housed at Salon AM Moritzplatz and hosted by Illambra.
Based on a newly minted expansion of their musical stylings and successes, this short film effort signals the start of a series of shorts that will pair the duo’s music with films tackling relevant and current topics. For this effort, the musical advertisement plumbs the notions about man’s fascination with both space in general and more specifically the future, with Potion finding inspiration from such eclectic sources as Jules Verne and Jean Cocteau to Fritz Lang’s epic film masterpiece “Metropolis”, while likewise pulling additional concepts from a currently formed design project called “Visions of the Future” by NASA/JPL. Taking that much more comedic and light-hearted approach that finally makes thoughts of the future palatable as opposed to so many that would seem to predict doom and gloom or just a generalized “somber”, unimaginative direction, the film’s animation and fanciful journeys its fictional company promises cannot help but be entertaining, smile-inducing, and for that matter, fire up one’s hopes for said future.
Additionally here, we are treated to Potion’s newest single, “Dark Matter” as the background score for the infomercial, befitting the film’s thematic explorations and intent. This combination reminds this critic overall of a potent duo in a grander sense–music and film. They two work so effortlessly together when created in perfect symmetry with each other, and Potion’s genre of expression paired with this playful glimpse of the future and how optimum it would be to be among the “elite” that would share in the excursions and travels of ETB’s clientele really works to just sit back and enjoy without having to expend too much brain power diving headlong into veiled meanings and existential contemplation. From what I have read about Potion and the two people who make up the group, I’d say this film is truly an extension of who they are artistically, creatively, and personally, wishing to bring that more elusive joy and good-natured facet to experimental film in their own unorthodox, quirky way.
So, in total, “Potion: Dark Matter” is a magical little piece of indie film joy that marks a solid debut in the art form for Potion and the logic behind it courtesy of Maley and Bedoya. Take a gander at their effort, soak in some practical and inventive fun, and just let your mind wander to the cosmos and all the places you can visit there, whether one day physically, or more likely, just in the safety of your own mind.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
