17 Jun Songs from the Second Floor (2000)

Cartoonish

No, this is not cartoonish as the term is commonly used to mean simplified or childish. Instead, I mean it as stained glass artists did to imply the evocation of something by merely providing the outline.

Such cartoons were considered magical, giving meaning to something not by actually defining it, but by defining what separates it from the rest of the world. It is a special kind of abstraction, not one normally used in art and even more seldom (alas) in formal systems. Here it is done effortlessly and effectively.

This is not a ‘surreal’ film, as many have described. I suppose they mean to say it is strange. But surrealism is the creation of worlds whose underlying mechanics or metaphysics are different, other than ‘real.’ The art in surrealism is usually focused on what isn’t different.

This is instead abstraction. The objects in this world are a bit strange but the whole point is that the underlying physics is the same to which we are subject. The art in such cases is usually a matter of insight by strange light. This bears more resemblance philosophically to Roddenberry than Bunuel.

And that qualifies it as serious enough to pay attention to. Past that point, I abandon it. That’s because it really is true to the Bergman tradition that imparted despair is a worthwhile endeavour. Not for me.

But I must admit that the last scene is really very fine. Few movies know how to end, and almost no one does it well. This, my friends is done well. I can recommend sitting through the entire thing then stopping right before that last scene. Take a few days and clear your soul, refreshing yourself. Then go back and experience the visitation of all that has come before, but this way you can see it as the stained glass it is and not a morbid essay on gloom.

This is a world, incidentally where you (the camera) does not move, but the buildings and meadows do.

Posted in 2004

Ted’s Evaluation — 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.

IMDB