elder's insights into modernity are unfortunately less measured here, and he seems to favor more of the "choose your film" narrative with his aesthetics than do anything legitimately formally interesting. still, the work has powerful imagery and the unusual approach to the narrative which is partly structuralist influenced though very grounded in elder's fascination with faith and the creation mythos permeates throughout here in a strong way.

" Whether I only was the part of me
that You created last, You—governing
the heavens—know: it was Your light that raised me. "
- Dante

Like a lot of structuralist films this gets very repetitive very quickly... I get that that's kinda the point here but I don't buy into that overall cine-ideological ethos at all, regardless of how visually and aurally gorgeous all this is - I kept thinking throughout how this was the birth of a new cinematic language, one that has never been utilized or expanded upon since. There are short sections of this that are straight-up god-tier and everything else feels like you're being hammered over the head with the same ideas, images and sounds over and over again. Frustrating and fascinating in equal measure.

"Look down and see our tempest here below": an elegy, a prayer and a testament to its own frenetic energy.

" Whether I only was the part of me
that You created last, You—governing
the heavens—know: it was Your light that raised me. "
- Dante

Like a lot of structuralist films this gets very repetitive very quickly... I get that that's kinda the point here but I don't buy into that overall cine-ideological ethos at all, regardless of how visually and aurally gorgeous all this is - I kept thinking throughout how this was the birth of a new cinematic language, one that has never been utilized or expanded upon since. There are short sections of this that are straight-up god-tier and everything else feels like you're being hammered over the head with the same ideas, images and sounds over and over again. Frustrating and fascinating in equal measure.

"Look down and see our tempest here below": an elegy, a prayer and a testament to its own frenetic energy.

elder's insights into modernity are unfortunately less measured here, and he seems to favor more of the "choose your film" narrative with his aesthetics than do anything legitimately formally interesting. still, the work has powerful imagery and the unusual approach to the narrative which is partly structuralist influenced though very grounded in elder's fascination with faith and the creation mythos permeates throughout here in a strong way.