WATCH THE FILM HERE
First, the Recap:
Perchance to examine the world. Or, perhaps, more specifically to meditate on existence. Can we not all attest to the light speed pace at which this contemporary age sees us choosing to move through? Despite so many things that we might see ourselves surrounded with, the attention to such detail has virtually become null and void. Simply attempting to take it all in, digest it, see the challenges, at yet STILL try to ONLY take the path of least resistance–do we pause to ask WHY?
Alongside a hotly burning campfire in the midst of an unknown prairie landscape, a young woman (Kendall Cavener) holds her diary in hand, using the “old fashioned” technique to express what she’s feeling via pen and paper. The more she delves into herself, the more her mind expands into the depths of memory and an uncomplicated but potent venture into what it is to realize one primary thing–being alive.
Next, my Mind:
Intimately poignant, exceedingly truthful, accessibly uncomplicated yet purposefully evocative, plus nothing short of relatably personal, inspirational, heartbreaking, and thought-provokingly beautiful, it only requires just a little over seven and a half minutes for this new short film from writer/director/producer Kendall Cavener and producer/cinematographer/editor Devin Montgomery to completely immerse you in a universe of simple yet profound verity that speaks volumes to the very core of this thing we call life. A far cry (honestly, polar opposite!) from the pair’s recent collaboration on the indie feature film “Monsters Within” (reviewed here), Cavener and Montgomery deliver a magnificently executed exposé that flows amidst everything from experimental cinema, to modern western, to existential leanings, doing so with grounded manner, captivating mood, and necessary conclusiveness to remain cemented in your mind. Period.
Through a narrative journey that is conveyed with just as much centered on the accompanying narration as it is with the utterly absorbing visual presentation, an exploration of ups and downs that life has brought about for a unnamed young women contemplating the journey she’s on carries forth with a muted but dynamic urgency that lays out her experiences past and present when reflecting on the world around her. But, what gives the film further relevancy and intent is once she starts going outside of just herself and begins expanding on greater concepts of existing that adeptly manifest weighty and impactful studies about how we really MUST see the realities we encounter, much less need to confront, good or ill. It’s symmetry vs. divergence, solace vs. discord, exhilaration vs. anguish, acceptance vs. dissension, and more, all seen through the eyes of a human being attempting to make sense of it.
Actuality is given first to vibrance, beauty, timelessness, moments to cherish, to watch things come about and grow, to nurture, to take heed of, to sincerely appreciate but then the film doesn’t shy away from the truth of the opposing forces we also encounter through the SAME elements, a congruent actuality that is also given to cruelty, disharmony, destruction, both inward and outward pain, deep loss, and no guarantees of what may lie ahead. HOW this is visually depicted then becomes the next layer of these thematic forays, as the lead character is going through both elation and heartrending hurt, while its also all put in context to not JUST a human perspective, but a natural one as well, which only serves, in this critic’s opinion, to provide the film a much grander scope and depth that sinks into your very being. Additionally, an emotively powerful music score creates the final layer, an atmospheric rhythm to the tapestry of BEING that is shown.
The finale to the film is pure magic to me, as after all we’ve seen up to that point, it only gives the notion of walking into the sunset a whole different framework and emotional intensity. Cavener, just like the film she’s created, steps back from the more conspicuously fervent energy of Lily in “Monsters Within” instead channeling an understatedly reflective tone and performance here through her role as the Young Woman, whose fireside reminiscing and associated monologue is tinged with a reservedly simmering efficacy that puts the words she’s writing down (and that we hear spoken) into our minds while imagery illustrating the points made pass before us, even as she likewise experiences the stirring ebbs and flows her journey understandably elicits. Both joyous and despairing, in candidness and complete vulnerability, the young woman soon must come to a crossroads that sees just how much life needs to be viewed and learned through good and bad.
It’s subtly sublime, sometimes blatantly wrenching, and all the places in between, which we mainly SEE the character go through. But, the calmness and raw emotion Cavener lends to the character’s voice is just as deftly delivered, paralleling the imagery to very affecting degrees. The only supporting appearance here is made by Montgomery as The Cowboy, whose character by conjecture we believe represents a direct tie to the Young Woman, yet interestingly enough, made me wonder if his appearances could also perhaps signify a metaphorical ideal being represented in relation to some of the concepts the woman is writing (and expounding) on when his image appears? I might be stretching it, or totally off base, but again, that thought DID hit me while viewing the film. WATCH the film above and, as I always say, make up your own mind.
So, in total, “The Meaning”, with its fantastically entrancing cinematography, ethereal music accompaniment, and engagingly concise but still wholly comprehensive peregrination into the heart of all that life encompasses through a contemporary Western motif, delivers a raw but alluringly striking portrait of how it sweeps us along, giving us no choice but to walk into each new dawn and dusk, that we might embrace today, tomorrow, and beyond towards the future–whatever it may hold. It’s like a fire’s burning embers being caught up and taken into the sky by the wind–if you get MY meaning.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
