Geographies of Solitude
In Geographies of Solitude, filmmaker Jacquelyn Mills, with the cooperation of researcher Zoe Lucas, weaves together a beautiful collage of artistic mediums to create a film that feels like it's less about Sable Island, but embodies it.
This film takes an experimental portrait form and embodies many different styles of cinema, from the fly-on-the-wall direct cinema model to the films of Maya Deren. It begins in a very meditative poetic style, showing the context of Lucas' research, which began because of the isolated wild horses that have been on this secluded island for decades, to the modern problem of microplastics and pollution that have washed up on the island.
When I say the film embodies the place, I mean it. Mills uses contact microphones to record the sound of insects walking around. She processes film in the soil and other biological textures native to the island, from grasses to horse droppings. Also, the score is ambient music constructed from wind chimes, the wind itself, the ocean, weather, insects and other organic sounds, all used to great effect.
The film is shot on gorgeous 16mm film, and it stands out for that. It's a genuinely work of art that you want to give yourself to and let it wash over you.
All of this culminates to give you some of the feelings of what it must be like to live in such a secluded place, as Lucas has for over 40 years.
Geographies of Solitude is a special film, and if you give yourself over to it, it's a rewarding experience, although for some, it could be a challenging one.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
A guest review with Mr. 1960 from The Atomic Hour, which airs Saturdays at 8pm on KIOS!
