Yesterday was Mr. Marshall McLuhan’s birthday. Anyone who read the cult classic The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects knows that Marshall McLuhan is the godfather of philosophical media analysis. He did deep studies about how the media could effect an individual, and although those theories were written in the 60s it can easily by applied to what’s happening now. This video interview is a good introduction to Mr. McLuhan’s work and would perhaps inspire us to question our own role in today’s machine-obsessed world.

(Geoff Marslett’s Mars, US, 2010)

BAM Cinema Fest opens tomorrow!  The new program boasts a mixture of interesting picks from marked time periods with eclectic titles such as Ben Chace’s Wah Do Dem (with Norah Jones) and award-winning director Ken Wardrop’s His & Hers, and how about Cane Toads: The Conquest in 3-D..!  Most of the selected 18 new features are also NY premieres as part of the new festival.  These along with a delightful program of Shorts (check out Clay Liford’s My Mom Smokes Weed), director/artist Q&A’s, outdoor screenings, and a nice wrap-up closing party are enough to start off your summer film marathon.

See the Program Here

May 28 – Micmacs opens tonight in New York!  Being a fan of Mr. Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s work (I must’ve seen Amelie more than 200 times), I am looking forward to his comeback with a French comedy twist (in the style of Delicatessen, 1991). Humor along with a visual feast to the eyes, and the incredible French actor Dominique Pinon? Mr. Jeunet’s films almost always comes with an amazing collection of sound tracks as well. Can’t ask for more this weekend. Rotten Tomatoes did a recent interview with the director. See the trailer here.

Sometimes Still by Darren Almond

Although some might praise photographer and filmmaker Darren Almond for withstanding the test of time during his all-night exposure shoots, the social and political barriers of obtaining rights to document rare footage in foreign countries, and the challenges of producing his works in difficult-to-reach locations, his accomplishments are still somewhat unimpressive compared to the awe-inspiring activities and rituals of his subjects. In Sometimes Still, a six-screen video installation on view at Matthew Marks, Almond’s camera follows a monk through dark mountain trails as he trains to complete the process of Kaihōgyō.

Although Kaihōgyō is a seven-year process where the monk trains to ultimately gain Buddhahood and discover a higher state of consciousness, the camera follows one of these “marathon monks” as he performs a central ritual that involves walking extraordinary distances for hundreds of days at a time. Upon entering the gallery, one must take a few moments to adjust to the overwhelming darkness of the gallery and the contrast of the five large screens. The screens are overlapping each other in such a way that all five are viewed at once, both allowing the viewer to experience the videos fully (as the screens overcome the viewer and seem to wrap around panoramically), and also distracting the viewer (as one cannot possibly watch each screen at the same time since one will always remain in the periphery). The screens are taller than the average viewer, and rest on the ground, further bringing the viewer’s body into the video. This strange effect transports the viewer into the video; one is soon on the mountain trail following the monk on his surreal quest in the moonlight.

Uneasy at first by the darkness and imposing size of the screens, one might build up the courage to venture back behind the main screens to see what else the dark gallery might hold. In the rear, another smaller screen reveals to us a black and white video of a more mature — perhaps enlightened— Buddhist monk tending to a fire in a temple. Do not be surprised if you suddenly feel more at ease in the darkness of the gallery, or perhaps more courageous than the new arrivals who are sheepishly standing near the entrance/exit of the gallery.