Maud Alpi's Still Life is a existential and introspective examination of the nature of life itself, a confrontational yet meditative study of mankind's social-based construct of what life we as a species place value on and which we do not. A pseudo-documentary, Still Life is a sensitive and observational portrait of a slaughterhouse, viewed primarily through the lens of a young employee who is emotionally effected by the profession he himself is a part of. Featuring a voyeuristic lens and an observant eye, Still Life is excruciatingly intimate, intricately exploring the close confines of the slaughter house, with the clanging steel gates, dark hallways, and dimly lit spaces creating an expressionistic nightmare that is beautifully disturbing, one where death lurks around every corner. Beautifully composed, Still Life paints a convincing portrait of the horrors of our mass-industrialized meat industry, a film which attempts to routinely capture the sense of consciousness that exists in these various animals through it's meditative lens. The cinematography routinely fixates on the eyes of these animals, a repetitive decision, confronting the viewer in a way that attempts to establish the emotion of these animals and humanize them for the audience. This young employee that is detailed throughout the narrative is the closest thing to a central protagonist, a man whose close connection with his dog provides a beautifully juxtaposition between our social construct of what life matters and what life doesn't, with the freedoms and tenderness in which the dog experiences on a daily basies being a sharp contrast with the various animals we routinely view primarily in the context of consumption. The few scenes that take place outside of the confines of the slaughterhouse are bright, vivid and alive, with Still Life having a truly impressive understanding of space and visual acumen, contrasting the freedom and open spaces of the outside world with the restrictive, dimly lit confines of the slaughterhouse. A confrontational experience that is sure to make some viewers question their affinity of meat consumption, Maud Alpi's Still Life is a film that is bound to stay with the viewer long after its conclusion, a visually expressive piece of filmmaking that challenges our cultural understanding of life itself, questions whether all aspects of life deserve the same respect and importance we place on human life.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
|