directed by:
Stacey Stone written by: Dinae Mellen, Stacey Stone genre: Short |
Personally, I love watching this kind of philosophically based stuff. Director Stacey Stone’s short film “Concerto For Humanity,” which she co-wrote with Dinae Mellen, asks an interesting question of its own to start things off after unearthing archival footage from an old 16mm film tin – what would a filmmaker from the 1930s might think if they were to wake up in the modern-day era? The narration is limited to a small fraction of this film, while the rest is left up to you to interpret as you watch scenes that take you through a series of parallels that will have you questioning whether or not any progress has been made in the past hundred years. I don’t really know what I think about that if I’m being honest with you. You’ll watch “Concerto For Humanity” and ponder how little or far we’ve come as Stone pans her lens over scenes that are so eerily similar at points, you’ll wonder if the fabric of our shared humanity is really only separated by the parts we documented in black and white, versus all the extraordinary technology at our disposal that allows us to catch even the most mundane moments of our lives in beautiful technicolor today. “This is the paradox of human progress,” the narration will eventually continue in saying…as if to wonder out loud about whether there has ever been any at all.
I think that there are two ways to look at something like “Concerto For Humanity.” I mean, there are probably more than two ways, of course, but I think the main two would be to allow yourself to take this guided tour as it’s displayed with the question it comes with, and also to legitimately wonder about whether or not all we’ve done & all we’ve achieved as a society can be boiled down to twelve minutes of randomly selected footage. Seems like a lot of history to try and sum up in such a short amount of time, doesn’t it? Or is that simply wishful thinking? Maybe we are under the illusion that we’ve done more than we have with the time we had to do it all…or maybe, just maybe, the story has already been told, and we’re merely moving along a circular timeline that has always been destined to have multiple points where things crossover in the mighty Venn Diagram of life. Again, I’m not entirely sure where I fall on this spectrum of thought when it comes right down to it, ultimately, but I sure love thinking about it all. I think I have a somewhat jaded perspective that believes we haven’t really done anything too significant, or perhaps a better way to put it is that I don’t think we’ve found the one true system that works for everybody in the most humane way we could have employed, which makes daily life kind of feel like we’re constantly spinning our wheels while we’re all pretending there isn’t a better system than there is. If we’re to go by the scenes we’re shown here by Stone, then I think we have to conclude that at the very least, the present has a ton in common with the past – maybe even more than we’d be comfortable admitting to. Think of it this way – if you took out technological advancements, what are the changes you’d be able to pinpoint between the differences in yesterday versus today? We’re not talking about real estate developments and superficial constructs we’ve created to help us pass the time…I think that either of those things could just as easily point to our devolution as any kind of significant progress we have made. We’re talking more along the lines of laws & the various ways we interact with each other. We’re talking about whether or not the power dynamic of society has changed all that much from when there were kings and queens. We’re talking about whether we are taking the time to care for the sick and the poor as we should. We’re debating whether any of this stuff has made tangible progress and whether we’re basically programmed to keep repeating the many mistakes we make. What “Concerto For Humanity” is not going to do is spell out the answer to any of this for you in any kind of direct way – that’s not what Stone intended to do here. This is a cerebral type of short film, where you’ll have to come to your own conclusions, and that’s one of my favourite things about watching this. From my personal interpretation of the way the footage has been woven together, I’d tell you that “Concerto For Humanity” is essentially documented visual proof that we’ve squandered much of our time on Earth together, and that IF there is change to be found, it’s horrifyingly incremental at the very best. That being said, YOU might have a totally different interpretation of what you’ll see in this film.
I’m not here to tell you that we haven’t done some cool things, because of course we have. I’d argue that “Concerto For Humanity” agrees with that sentiment too, based largely on the fact that it includes a bunch of footage at our most beautiful moments as well…it’s got a fairly balanced approach, and I think people will genuinely respect that. If anything, I think that Stone and Mellen are making a much larger & important point…they’re really asking us if we’ve prioritized the right things over the course of history. That’s a much deeper question, and it’s become so much harder to answer as of late, as we’ve watched the rights and civil liberties our ancestors once battled for be stripped away and rolled back further back in time than the majority of us have been alive for. Or perhaps the more accurate way to put it, again from my own personal perspective, is that the question of our priorities is much easier to answer than we want to acknowledge – we’re moving backwards…we’re reverting…we’re devolving. Are we doing that by choice & free will? Are we being conned & coerced? Do we have any control over ANY of this? I absolutely loved how much this short film has us authentically interacting with the questions it raises. Are we doomed to continue the pattern, or is there something we can do to make meaningful change? Even though it’s twelve minutes that seems to fly right by as we watch, every moment from Stone has the kind of intention and purpose you want to see in a short film. What I’d say makes “Concerto For Humanity” even more engaging to watch is the absolutely amazing work that Larry Tuttle has done to score the film – the music is a crucially soothing aspect that often provides incredible contrast to what you’re seeing in scenes of protest or shots of our humanity in all of its various states of disrepair. The music offers us a unique aspect of serenity and peace amongst the chaos we’ve continually been a part of, which in itself is somewhat of a comment on how to access a level of comfort we need in this life. In any event, no matter how you look at it, what you’ll hear in the music of this film is completely stunning. I dig it! In fact, I watched “Concerto For Humanity” several times, and never once found it anything less than a great film. Do I expect everyone else out there to get it? Not necessarily the philosophical aspect, I suppose, but I do enjoy the potential for the average everyday viewer having to think about what they’re watching & mull over what Stone is attempting to communicate through this compelling combination of visuals. I’m not even claiming I’ve got the full scope of it all correct myself, mind you, I’m just relaying my own interpretation of this experience to ya. What I can tell you for a fact is that if you can sit still for 12 minutes without staring at your phone & truly allow yourself to engage with Stone’s visual art & craftsmanship, you’re going to get a whole lot of a short film like this & be surprised by how it will stimulate your mind in multiple ways. I’m going with 4 out of 5 stars for “Concerto For Humanity,” though I’ve been mighty tempted to go a notch higher based on my own attachment to everything I’ve seen here today. This film is art, information and documentation, rolled into one seriously impressive experience that dares to question if we have done enough with our time…and if we could still do more. |
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