WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
What is it that we see when engaging in the moments we have? When we know, whether accepting it or not, that this life we inhabit is only temporary, a flash of light in the scope of the vast universe we call home, might there be more beyond it we have yet to comprehend? But, while pondering such notions, what about the here and now? What about THESE current junctures we arrive at? For a woman who remains nameless, it is these questions she finds herself preoccupied with even as she battles her own sense of self and the makeup of the also unnamed struggles she faces. She enters a place where time suddenly ceases to be, or at least in our limited comprehension of it, slowing reality down to one specific instance she now experiences, filled with its own expanse of actualities and truths.
Next, my Mind:
Honestly, I found myself both pleasantly transfixed and somewhat uneasily impacted (in exactly what way I am at a loss to fully describe) when viewing this 10-minute HIGHLY experimental short film from German writer/director/producer/composer/visual artist/sound designer Schahram Poursoudmand shown at the 2nd Annual 2019 Berlin Illambra Experimental Film Festival held at Salon AM Moritzplatz and hosted by Illambra. Presented as the first part of, per Poursoudmand, “the LICHTPHON Cycle Trilogy IKONEN showing the loneliness, vulnerability, drama, and poetry in devoted yearning and hope for deliverance” as it applies to the aforementioned anonymous woman who is the central figure the narrative focuses on, the film carries itself with an almost eerie, haunting resonance through a decidedly artistic, totally idiosyncratic, uniquely diverse pairing of music and imagery to form its core.
The effort calls to mind the awe of what we might see if we were to personally experience what this enigmatic woman is in purposefully freezing time and exploring what can be discovered within a specific moment, then residing there for who knows what length of time to see how it effects us. The symbolism in portraying one single instance in time and expanding it to be an illustration of what’s contained in that lone point it emcompasses, an abstraction of all the meanings therein, its transitions and transformations fluid and ever unfolding, that normally pass by without perceptible acknowledgement unless slowed down as pictured here, is undeniably potent and oddly moving. Is it a glimpse of eternity, to see all that is possible exploding with its own existence and significance, transcending basic understanding, witness to an entirely new universe of reality and its ramifications as it relates to our own inward strivings, weaknesses, and longings while seeking the absolute answers we desire?
Perhaps it is presented to not just see this lone woman’s conceptualized journey, a hint of what’s to come in the yet to be completed second and third films, but to grant us our own moments of awakening and newly discovered awareness, a refreshed understanding to actually treasure all the moments we have and see them for what they are, rather than just letting time speed by like a bullet train, potentially missing out on what a given moments was designed to accomplish for our benefit. It seems apropos to consider this, given I cannot count how many instances there have been where I am so overtly distracted by things that mean nothing in the larger scheme that I don’t honestly doubt I’ve allowed particular instances to blast by me, gone forever in their intent for that period they inhabited and could have been for my betterment. Again, this all sounds like waxing philosophical, but isn’t this the beauty of experimental cinema, to make us go well beyond normalcy and ponder elements of our existence in a deeper, albeit quirkier, way?
As hinted at above, the visual presentation is quite avant-garde, and may even seem a tad monotonous to take in. Yet, based on the film’s ambitions and narrative, staring at the black and white, slowly melding then melting imagery depicted has an almost trance-like power and it does cause you to feel like delving deeper into the meanings behind it. Accompanied by a rather unearthly musical background score, it emulates all the emotional states the woman is experiencing while striking the viewer with a sense of being both mesmerized and enthralled yet shaken and agitated at the same time. It’s simply one utterly wild experience that perhaps words won’t truly do justice to, but rather experience. And so, in total, “Silhouettes Iconique” stands as one definitively fringe, unconventional slice of filmmaking that only helps more effectively showcase the ingenuity, creativity, outside the lines reasoning, and boldness that independent artists possess that will challenge us all as cinema addicts to be open to new horizons and styles that paint the portrait of exactly what this all is–art.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
