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First, the Recap:
Diversion. It can be a blessing or a curse. One one hand, it can provide a much-needed escape from the monotony, mundaneness, or frustratingly mind-numbing instances we find ourselves in at times. On the other hand, however, it can also be a highly unnerving detriment to accomplishing that which we’ve set out to do when our focus gets waylaid by things that mean to do nothing but, well, divert us. For a particular voice-over artist (Kevin Silva), it has certainly become a statement about the latter, even as he maintains his attempts to get around to becoming spiritually transcended, things just seem to keep getting in his way, including getting lost in a local forest. Yet, what else does one do when everything around you is falling apart and preventing your expounding on and gaining entrance into divine bliss? You make commercials!
Next, my Mind:
From the start of its just under 13-minute runtime to the very purposefully open-ended finale, this inventive, wholly original, and ultimately madcap adventure of a film brought about by writer/director/producer David Baeumler and writer/actor Kevin Silva demands attention for its utterly offbeat, entertaining weirdness, kooky humor, and yet life-lesson-infused narrative that speaks to our human nature and the preoccupation we have with being–preoccupied! Screened at the 2nd Annual 2019 Berlin Illambra Experimental Film Festival hosted by Illambra and presented at the Salon AM Moritzplatz, it is a story replete with non-sequiturs and random concepts all wrapped into what sometimes feels like a playfully disjointed documentary feature on Gnostics intermixed with the effort’s central character waxing philosophic on overall desire for sacred ascendency that then gets interrupted by equally bizarre circumstances that throw him for a loop before trying to regain focus and composure.
Hence, just like the character, it’s a lesson in how we so often begin a task, but then something comes along to either destroy it or deter it from being completed. Therefore, we then end up manufacturing other means by which to divert the catalyst for chaos away from our objective–until we then get caught up in the exactly that which was supposed to aid us maintaining our aims, becoming a new obsession. Sounds convoluted perhaps, but it honestly makes so much sense, even bringing to mind actual experiences of this happening, and that’s the magic of the film. Of course, there are also the sudden interjections of commercials the lead character decides to create for products and medical conditions that are just as outrageous and outlandish as the rest of his endeavors, only adding to the atmosphere of frenetic insanity and intentional confusion that brings the laughter from us, the witnesses of said craziness. Basically, everything becomes the film’s namesake by the end.
The visual impact of the film is, like so many of the films at BIEFF, wildly eccentric and yet totally artistically astute, presenting here imagery that is at one time crystal clear, then other times a haze of random forms of interference-based pictures that more than suitably befit the film’s intents. Silva is a total riot here in his role as the hapless voice-over artist whose life is consistently upended by anything and everything around him that thwarts his efforts to do the piece on Gnostics while also managing to be an ad-man for some truly strange products. The character’s ponderings about spirit over body, “death is purpose, decay is hope”, “transcendence is pointless”, et al is quite witty as it is delivered with such a deadpan, matter-of-fact manner by Silva throughout, making it even funnier because of the growing level of absurdity it represents in seeking something that even resembles relevant meaning. It’s farcical comedic folly at its amusingly wry best, at least for this critic it was, and Silva performs this with beautifully controlled poise.
In total, with an actual, legitimate point to be made when it comes to illustrating our stubborn human proclivity to allow so much to cause us to lose sight of and focus on what’s important, “The Distraction Tower” stands tall as an ambitious little indie film that could, being yet another portrait of adept alternative filmmaking that deserves a shot to shine in the sun-drenched vistas of Hawaii, surrounding yourself with the wondrous adventures the ocean, valleys, mountains, and lava-strewn landscapes have to offer! Book your excursion now at–OH! I must apologize profusely for straying from my original thoughts above. I got distracted.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
Thanks a ton for the thoughtful and thorough review, Kirk! Really appreciate your thoughts on the film. I’m glad you found it interesting and enjoyed Kevin Silva’s performance – I think he’s the best.