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First, the Recap:
Particles. Whisking around us in any myriad of forms, sizes, and sources, specks float, encompassing us, most likely far more than we might care to encounter or have awareness of. We see them through beams of sunlight or the muted glow from a lamp, otherwise invisible yet constantly present in the very air we breathe for life. Yet, there are some places where a particulary prolific particle resides unimpeded by anything of man, or is otherwise able to simply circumnavigate us by such diverse means, which can either be fun and playful, or a recipe for disaster. It can pile high in endless landscapes of dunes, or lay firm, low, and hard on the ground, packed to an almost stone-like foundation. It can caress, or turn into a stinging, abrasive foe when the winds choose to rile it up from its resting place. Time seems to stand still, in either case, in a world filled with one thing–sand.
Next, my Mind:
One would tend to believe that a non-narrative short film, even clocking in at a mere five and a half minutes, focusing on sand wouldn’t capture the attention of a viewer. But, for this critic anyway, I have to say that notion would be incorrect when it comes to this effort from director Juan Rod and producer Larry Colsa that screened at the 2nd Annual Berlin Illambra Experimental Film Festival housed at Salon AM Moritzplatz and hosted by Illambra. Yes, it’s like many of the efforts showcased at BIEFF this year–surreal, obscure, unorthodox, outside the box, cerebral, and, well, experimental–but again, this ends up being the real beauty of it and why these films truly do deserve some time in the sun, even if it does primarily occur within the niche audience much of it reaches. Here, it is a purely visual experience overall, meant to strike the eyes and then the mind with a created universe of sand and its effect on us.
What comes from this ends up being a interesting study of how an element made up of tiny grains of finely divided rock and mineral particles can actually form into such vastly different landscapes, whether the dry, arid, sun-scorched desert or the wave-kissed shoreline of a misty beach, and then have a radically different impact in each environment. It can be a softer, wet with water, pliable under our feet yet resistant as well, almost trying to hold us in place as we walk along the coastline and its tidal pool-laden vistas. Then, it can be inhospitable, whipped into a fury of granules by heat-driven winds, blasting everything it touches, even to the point of wearing away rock itself. In many ways, is this kind of contrasting nature not unlike our own existence as human beings, how we experience our emotional calms and maelstroms, capable of comfort or chaos? Regardless, the visual presentation is magical, painting that portrait of sand as an entity in itself, portrayed in the contexts of these thematic ambitions.
Additionally, the imagery here is meant to be almost dream-like, illustrating the dual sides of sand as the element it is, the beauty of it seen in both storm and eerie solace, yet there we are taking it in, regardless of which extreme the sand itself might be displaying. Does it mean that’s somehow the means by which we embrace it as a part of our equally fluctuating lives, or we choose to seek out places like beaches or even deserts as places to contemplate, the sand becoming almost a “confidant” for us to mull over our thoughts? Not trying to get overly analytical or stretch things too far, but as with so many indie films, there’s often much below the surface and in this case, conjecture will play a huge part in what the viewer might take away from Rod’s project. But, in total, “Sand” does present a worthy visual exploration at minimum and stands as a wonderful example of just how creative and daring independent artists are in taking something as simple as sand and turning it into a commentary about who we are as people. At least that’s what this critic believes.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
