I've been thinking lots about film and photography lately. Often pictures are thought of as a souvenir of a particular time. We taken them so we won't forget. Of course, what is shown in a photograph can be deceiving and incomplete. A square or rectangle cannot contain an entire truth, especially considering the subjectivity of perspective. Still, photos and films remain physical proofs of existence in space and time.
Bill Morrison's 2004 film Light is Calling, like his acclaimed feature length film Decasia, depicts the decay of nitrate film stock. Like the flickering and waving of flames the film's images become amorphous shapes, always changing. Staring hard you see a horse drawn carriage emerge from haze of the rotting nitrate. A woman's face fights through as in a dream. Soldiers press forward, trying to tear away the layer of the film's festering flesh. The images in Morrison's film behave as memories. It's a battle to be seen. The scenes never change. The people still smile. The cart still moves. But we cannot see things the same way. We recognize moments, those that push with ever weakening arms against the thickening curtain of forgetfulness.
Watch this film. The score is beautiful too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf9ah8IUVgw
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