...or at least it was supposed to be a "beer commercial" at first, but then...then Peter Kubelka decided to kickstart his career as an experimental filmmaker with this atmospheric one minute short.
While viewing the brief art piece (because it is more of an "art piece" than a "movie") images flash, obscured objects and faces are slightly decoded by the squinting eye and the end result is one of confusion and fascination. It also feels like a great tongue and cheek prank on Scwechater (the beer company this is a supposed commercial for); he's like the Andy Kaufman of extremely obscure and somewhat minor avant garde filmmakers (a title that I never would have thought been applicable with anyone on the face of the Earth)!
Not only is it an interestingly made and visually appealing work, but it is also refreshingly short. At only one minute, there is no dragging along, it is just a swift slice of weird, abstract filmmaking. Many artists that delve into the area of abstract and extremely experimental cinema often force the viewer to sit through everything from a half hour to a few full hours to fully soak the pretension and boredom. Abstract cinema is a genre that is highly flawed, although some of the greatest of all films can be categorized as such (especially when discussing the finest works of avant garde/experimental cinema), and I am happy that artists such as this man have been able to recognize that by keeping great core ideas and letting them last as long as necessary...and by that I mean for a couple of minutes.
While viewing the brief art piece (because it is more of an "art piece" than a "movie") images flash, obscured objects and faces are slightly decoded by the squinting eye and the end result is one of confusion and fascination. It also feels like a great tongue and cheek prank on Scwechater (the beer company this is a supposed commercial for); he's like the Andy Kaufman of extremely obscure and somewhat minor avant garde filmmakers (a title that I never would have thought been applicable with anyone on the face of the Earth)!
Not only is it an interestingly made and visually appealing work, but it is also refreshingly short. At only one minute, there is no dragging along, it is just a swift slice of weird, abstract filmmaking. Many artists that delve into the area of abstract and extremely experimental cinema often force the viewer to sit through everything from a half hour to a few full hours to fully soak the pretension and boredom. Abstract cinema is a genre that is highly flawed, although some of the greatest of all films can be categorized as such (especially when discussing the finest works of avant garde/experimental cinema), and I am happy that artists such as this man have been able to recognize that by keeping great core ideas and letting them last as long as necessary...and by that I mean for a couple of minutes.
