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| Images Courtesy of Good Deed Entertainment |
Dana Kippel's intriguing directorial debut is a
film that will most certainly divide audiences. An intergalactic
body snatching exploration of self-reflection, the project's ambitions are so
high they could not possibly succeed, but watching the attempt is easily one of
the most interesting viewing experiences of the year thus far.
Featuring a memorable ensemble, an audacious central premise, and a
plethora of hypnotic visuals, Reflect is a skin deep examination of
trauma and friendship.
Summer is unhappy with her life and romantic relationship, so she invites several
of her friends to join her in Sedona, Arizona on a Spiritual Obstacle Course that
promises to reward them with thousands of dollars upon completion. What
begins as a weekend retreat of confrontation and revelations soon evolves into
an interstellar game show with endless eccentricities. Kippel's script blends
tropes from various genres while walking a tightrope across them. Elements of
Lynch, Midsommar, and Black Mirror are everywhere, yet they are strained
through a Neo-Hippie sensibility creating an almost madcap pressure cooker of
post-traumatic stress disorder, closeted sexuality, and socioeconomic clashes.
The result is a mixed bag. There are moments of hilarity dappled between, but
for the most part, the social commentary is very on the nose, which might be
needed depending on the viewer.
The ensemble at the center of the story is the hearts blood, with Kippel herself starring as Summer. At its core, the "game" involves the characters facing their own demons in various strange locals masked as reality. The voyeuristic angle, while not new, is presented creatively, merging the concept of self-healing and shared trauma with an almost accusatory takedown of social media. The human experience is now mostly lived via cellphone and media applications, and Reflect manipulates these truths into a surreal trip that meanders, but ultimately leaves everything within the viewer's perceptions.
Yousef Sekander’s vibrant cinematography is the most memorable aspect. Warm, candy colors flood the optics throughout, but one of the most inspired choices is how the colors persist no matter which location the characters are at. It would have been easy to bifurcate the more fantastical scenes with darker colors, but the choice to keep the intensity lends to the concept of a false or synthetic reality, an idea that begs to be explored more.
Now available for digital streaming, Reflect is a fresh, but restrained jaunt into the
mind's eye. A high concept that aimed for the heavens, only to barely reach the
clouds, as the messages and mores that are explored are done so without a hint
of subtlety. Still, the yield is a trippy sojourn of various themes, which,
depending on the viewer's mood, may endear them to Kippel's banquet of cosmic
horror friendship analysis.
--Kyle Jonathan