Sola
Fascinating. I had to watch this film a few times in an attempt to soak up and ponder the detailed imagery, and the meaning behind each frame. SOLA is more of a music video than a short film, but that doesn’t mean to imply that a more meaningful dialogue is not present.
The lyrics act as a script and take us into an animated, apocalyptic world of self-absorption. ‘All I want is a place in the sun’ rings as a battle cry for life in an environment of chaos and destruction. People are broken, and the devices that are meant to bring us closer and increase communication cause distance and neglect of our relationships and the planet.
As in today’s society, the populace appears to be focused on the self, on social media, and devices that keep us from being social. This filmmaker has a strong point of view, and it comes across in this short. We are destroying our relationships, the environment, and the structures around us. We are destroying the world, and we don’t care about anything except the number of selfies we take, and how we can further our own indulgent hubris. And in case you wondered what ‘hubris’ means, I looked it up for you – arrogance, conceit, haughtiness, self-importance, price, egotism, pomposity, superiority, cockiness. In Greek tragedy, it can also mean excessive pride toward or in defiance of the gods, which leads to becoming a nemesis. It means to violate the bounds set for humans and is always punished by the gods.
As we move through the chaos of this video, we experience that we are bringing death upon ourselves by causing death to the planet. Ignorance will not stop a problem from growing, and the worst crime one can commit is apathy.
This film is just over three minutes long, but it says an awful lot in that short time. It is sure to create hours of discussion and interpretation amongst audiences, and I hope that conversation occurs. It is the type of film that you want to see many times because you will discover new imagery with each viewing, such as spirit type imagery that leaves the trees and the piles of paper skyscrapers as they are destroyed. A ton of visual communication goes on in this film, and the lyrics suggest a much deeper engagement.
There were no credits so one can only assume that the filmmaker was the visionary behind the music, the imagery, and the message behind both. The music had a hard hitting grunge feel, with carefully written lyrics and excellent vocals. For a filmmaker to say so much in such a short time is incredibly ambitious, and we are witness to a great talent. I am in complete awe of this filmmaker, and what he or she has accomplished with this provocative little film.
By the end of this movie, the sun is gone. Did we notice? More importantly, did we do anything? Or did we just continue to drift further and further apart? The sun, in this film, is color and gives life. As the imagery intermittently changes from bright and fiery, to black and white, it is the filmmakers’ belief that we live in oblivion to the dangers we are creating, to our own detriment.
