NO TRAILER CURRENTLY AVAILABLE
First, the Recap:
“Oh man, I just figured out I don’t have enough RAM, enough disk space, or enough TB of storage. I wonder if I need to access the Cloud? I wonder if I need a better computer?” Are these not the statements and questions which plague our minds in this contemporary age we live in? Technology has become the new norm, its advancement careening forward with almost impossible-to-keep-up momentum, often leaving us feeling like we’re falling behind when the newest piece of tech we acquire becomes outdated overnight, or so it seems often.
More so, though, should we not perhaps pause for a moment and talk stock of what we’ve actually become in allowing hardware and bits (or is it bytes?) of data virtually control our very existence to the point of becoming something other than simply human beings, knitted together with intelligent design and the capacity to experience emotions and store memories in one of the most fantastic creations imaginable–the mind. For what are we if the whole purpose and intent of experience that remains a part of us gets relegated to a system where our own recollection isn’t even required? Welcome to the modern world and a necessary question needing answered.
Next, my Mind:
It may seem like a vague, perplexing, or somewhat unorthodox synopsis above that this critic has chosen to deliver when it comes to the 2-minute indie short film from director Davey Rocco, screened recently at the 2019 High Coast Film Festival sponsored by and/or in association with Illambra, Kramfors Kommun, Film Vasternorrland, Europeiska Unionen, Region Vasternorrland, Lansstyrelsen Vasternorrland, and NBV, but that’s fully intentional on my part and is actually quite apropos when you dig down to the basic roots of Rocco’s vision and target objective thematically here and how he has chosen to make quite lucid, valid observations about this world’s over-reliance on technology as the means for remembrance. Utilizing a wondrous variety of snapshots via presenting 25 years of digital photographic images that highlight the advancement of modern photography, there’s an exploration of theme, subject, contrast, tone, mood, significance, and purpose displayed that truly speaks to this notion as we visually take in the development of digitized artistry that, while providing more and more richly constructed artistry for us to appreciate, can all be sent to another place for retention rather than our own cerebrum, able to be recalled just as simply, yet lacking real substance.
Therefore, we can indeed save everything like this, hence losing the actual desire, maybe even the ability, to recall anything of our own volition, no longer storing anything in our minds, but instead permitting an electronic “brain” to do it for us. However, does this not beg the question–don’t these memories of moments actually mean more when our own human mind takes note of them and cements them in our conscious? To substitute the actual, tangible, relatable, beautiful experience of even the briefest of instances and how they burn into our being for just pulling up a library of images saved to an unfeeling, unrelenting “brain” that seems cold and impersonal, spitting out megabytes of data whose real weight and import might suddenly feel less than stirring like they should, it really seems like a fruitless endeavor in so many respects, and an injustice to what it even is to BE human. Yet, we march on to the beat of more and more computerized methods to apply to equally ample number of tasks in our lives, all in the name of “convenience” and faster results. It’s when films like this one, in just two quickly moving minutes, can remind us of so many things we take for granted when it comes to using our own heads instead of an automated one, and I applaud Rocco for just putting this out there, boldly, creatively, and unflinchingly.
The film itself is wonderfully put together in its simplicity, spanning the over two decades of photographic ingenuity as it grows from the basics to higher and higher complexity. The selection of images that Rocco employs is just as diverse and unique, both in their sheer originality and expressiveness as well as being such an eclectic mix of the usual and the unusual, the straightforward and the quirky, which even in itself to me speaks precisely to the overall scheme and aspiration Rocco is going for. Let’s challenge the status quo and make the viewer watch and come, ideally, away with something to think about that relates to the contemporary society we reside in, and let’s ask that tough question, as put by Rocco himself–“Whose memory is more important? Mine or my computer’s?”. Cannot say it much more succinctly than that. And so, in total, “Don’t Save” definitively represents indie cinema and the mindset this critic has always felt is present in so many of the real world, grounded concepts that are frequently addressed. In this case, I say it compels us to take on the attitude that it’s better to have human experience than a digital expanse that leads only to more mindless accumulation/quantity instead of less, albeit abbreviated many times, but impactful moments that we can truly treasure. Not saying we all run out and burn our PCs, laptops, cell phones, et al, but at least be willing to not let it become all we rely on and sacrifice feeling something in our hearts, minds, and souls.
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
