21 July 2014

DVD Review -Visitors (2013)


Genre:
Documentary
Distributor:
Metrodome
Rating: 15
DVD Release Date:
21st July 2014(UK)
Director:
Godfrey Reggio
Buy:Visitors [DVD]

Visitors, the latest work by Godfrey Reggio, the celebrated director of the 'Katsi trilogy', is said to transport audiences to the far side of the moon where they are confronted by themselves, the feature holding up a mirror to what it means to be human. Well, this is how the thin narrative that holds Visitors together is explained in the introduction that accompanies Metrodome's release, an explanation that has, at the very least, stopped me wondering what the purpose was of those slow tracks over the moon's surface. Reggio treads much of the same ground here as he did in the 'Katsi trilogy' with technology being a central concern. What does differ is the approach he adopts this time out. Instead of the film standing as an obvious critique of our society's reliance on technology, he holds a mirror up to his own reliance on technology through the techniques he deploys, which this time includes the use of 4K rendering alongside his trademark use of slow motion and time-lapse photography. Perhaps this is what Reggio is implying when he says, "The meaning is in the form." Visitors is visceral cinema at its finest and is an experience to savour. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the beautiful black and white photography on show.

★★★½

Shane James


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