directed by:
Deb Ethier written by: Deb Ethier genre: Animation |
Man, some folks do some really cool stuff in this world. Writer/Director Deb Ethier is one of them. While it’s certainly true that all of us carry some kind of “Baggage” in life, it is quite rarely, if ever, this cool. Mind you, I’m not claiming I fully understand this short film from start to finish…in fact, I’d probably be fairly lost without the written synopsis that comes along with it - but just because I don’t quite get something I’m watching doesn’t automatically mean I don’t like it. Far from it in a case such as this one, where I sat completely fascinated by what I was watching in Ethier’s film.
Accustomed to being a fairly dense individual, when I got to the end of the short six-minute run-time on “Baggage” and felt like I pretty much had no idea about what I just watched, I did what I naturally do in a situation like that, which is watch it all over again. Admittedly, I probably watched “Baggage” about three or four times in an attempt to fully grasp it somehow, and to be truthful, I likely failed hard in that regard. Here’s the thing, though…short run-time be damned, I’m not watching anything over and over again if I’m not enjoying myself in the process, you know what I mean? I had no problem at all watching “Baggage” multiple times, even though I felt like I was barely scratching the surface of what Deb was attempting to communicate. I’d be the first to tell you I’m no scholar, and I somewhat believe that even the most capable minds would have trouble discerning what this short film is really about without using a couple of lifelines and a phone-a-friend call. Do you wanna know the best part, though? If you told me that you were about to watch “Baggage” right now, I’d happily sit right down beside you and watch this all over again. So I suppose the question is, why do I feel that way? What would make a person feel like watching a film multiple times over if they truly can’t grasp most of what they’re seeing with their own two eyes? Well…I guess the answer to that might actually be a whole lot simpler than some of you would expect, but it’s because what you’re seeing in “Baggage” is art - full stop. I could attempt to come up with something more theoretically profound than that, but why be dishonest with you? I wouldn’t expect half of the potential audience for this animated short to completely understand what they’re seeing, but isn’t that genuinely the case with all art? Yet we still find our own ways to appreciate what we’re experiencing, and in some instances, we still want to rant and rave over things we don’t even come close to understanding. Ultimately, that’s how I feel about “Baggage” - I will never get tired of watching something like this and trying to come up with an explanation for what it is that I’ve seen here. Let’s get you on the same page as I was going into this. According to the written synopsis, “Baggage” is about a “beautiful but dark and abandoned place” where “a woman is compelled by a mysterious package to undertake a quest confronting her emotional baggage.” If that sounds relatively close to the last summer when you chose to visit a shaman in a remote village to have your first ayahuasca trip, I hear ya. You’ll see the package at the very start and all its highly unique items placed in this custom box. From pictures to figurines, old notes and even a moving picture at the center of the top, it’s like a tiny little curio cabinet, designed to stimulate the mind of our mysterious protagonist and compel her to somehow confront her own emotional baggage, just like the synopsis will tell ya. As to how we’d know that by viewing this film without the written explanation attached, I’m not sure any of us would feel like we came up with a concrete theory we could say was the right one without some kind of confirmation from Deb. Even having the explanation that we have, it’s still extremely tough to say that this is the only thing we’re watching. As with all art, it has a particular meaning to its creator, and once it is set free into the world, the consumers & patrons of that art all come up with their own meanings for it. I admire Deb’s intentions for what she’s created here; I’m just not as convinced that it would translate the way she would want it to. Again, from my personal point of view, that’s just fine, because it’s a true piece of visual art that you’re looking at in watching “Baggage,” and we’re all bound to have dozens of possible interpretations for what we’re seeing. What I don’t think anyone will be, is indifferent. As I’ve said in many things I’ve written over the years, for better or worse, at least people will talk about what they see in a film if it made them feel some type of way. Indifference is always what you would want to avoid at all costs, and I feel like the outstanding authenticity you’ll experience in this film would make that kind of feeling impossible. Whether it’s the stunning visual component and the extraordinary way these animated scenes are put together so seamlessly, or the emotional aspect of the “soundscapes based on music by Samuel Franziskus Johanns” - “Baggage” is seriously compelling, and you won’t want to take your attention off of what you hear or what you see for a single, solitary moment as you watch.
I think of something like this as closer to what you’ll experience in interactive modern-day art museums. If you’ve ever been in one of those, where the whole room transforms around you and surrounds you in the most wonderfully sensory way that makes it feel like you’ve just stepped into a painting come to life, that’s what it’s like to watch something like Ethier’s short film. You become fully immersed in the art of it all, and your mind is free to roam along with your eyeballs as you try to take it all in. I’m more than certain that most of us would come up with our own interpretations of what we see, and attach our own meanings to each scene as we watch…which again, makes it a form of abstract, interactive visual art that is capable of reaching us on a totally different level than the average film or movie could ever do. We don’t feel cheated by not having everything spelled out for us. Heck, if anything, it’s the complete opposite effect! Our senses are brilliantly stimulated by how strange and different this is to experience. Overall, I don’t think there are too many comparisons most people would be able to make film-wise to what you’ll see in “Baggage,” but there are feelings and experiences in your own life you could cite that might come closer to describing how something like this film works its magic on you. I think “Baggage” is absolutely wonderful when it comes right down to it, and I wish there were more films made like this. The visuals and imagery are exceptional, which combine 3D animation & Super 8 footage as far as I’ve learned. The music is nothing short of a superb fit for each scene as you watch, giving the visuals a real mood and a feeling like you’re wandering the halls of your memory in search of something tangible that you can be certain is real. Something like “Baggage” is like witnessing our dream state in our waking life. I might not fully understand a film like this shot for shot, but when was the last time any of our dreams made complete and total sense to us anyhow? We still look forward to having them, night after night, don’t we? Like I’ve been saying from the get-go, I’d watch a short film like “Baggage” any day of the week and twice on Sundays, regardless of feeling like I only get a fragment of what Ethier’s expressing. Heck, I might even prefer that being the case over feeling like I understood it all from start to finish. I’m going with a strong four stars out of five here - I feel like “Baggage” is the fresh breath of artistic air we can all benefit from experiencing, and I feel like many people would be excited by the uniqueness on display. |
|
|
More To Check Out.
|
