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| Images Courtesy of Oscilloscope |
One of the
most visionary directors currently working today is Albert Birney. His
films are dark fairytales that challenge audiences to change their
understandings of the fabric of reality and of the power of
possibilities. His latest feature, lovingly crafted with coconspirator
Peter Ohs is not only a resplendent homage to pre-internet video
games, but also a surreal voyage into the world that these treasured Nintendo
cartridges created in the mind’s eyes of those who played them.
Featuring a powerful central performance, hauntingly beautiful imagery, and a low-tech
vibe of nuance and dream logic, OBEX is one of the first cinematic
treasures of the year.
Conor is a techno-hermit who lives in a secluded home with his beloved dog
Sandy. He begins playing a strangely ominous, but state-of-the-art video
game and when his canine companion goes missing, his search for her blurs the
lines between game and reality. Birney and Ohs not only wrote the script
and edited the film together, Birney stars as Conor and Ohs handled
cinematography. Birney's Conor is emblematic of a semiotic lead character, both
a symbol of the imaginative nature of video games and also a precursor of the
modern era, living in solitude surrounded by machines and mirrored black
screens.
One of the more interesting aspects of this project is that Birney and Ohs did not plan ahead, discussing each scene the day of filming and deciding upon dialogue and what would transpire, thus enhancing the film’s fever dream quality. Ohs' black and white cinematography evokes memories of such classics as Eraserhead, Seconds, and more modern brethren, such as Keyhole. Comparisons to Guy Maddin and David Lynch are unavoidable as this is absolutely a tribute to their legendary styles with nods to the masters in almost every scene. Deep shadows dominate the lion’s share of the scenes, threatening to overtake the dreamlike ambience with a sense of foreboding terror, emulating the gamut of emotions that players feel when they enter the endless worlds of the electronic medium.
Now playing
in limited theaters and hopefully coming to digital on demand very soon, OBEX
is a remarkable, intimate small film that delves into the magic of video
games while also acknowledging the toll that the internet and the digital age
has taken on humanity. Exploring themes of isolation, loss, and wonder,
this is a sojourn into the origins of gaming. Impossibly creative and wickedly
sly, this is a flagship of independent film making.
--Kyle
Jonathan