You Go to My Head

We screened this remarkable film at the Capital City Film Festival this year and we were all impressed by it's lush beauty. The film plays like a lucent dream with inspired use of color, composition, and location. It's refreshing to see such a beautifully made film that doesn't pander to it's audience. The narrative material is both challenging and accessible at the same time with stellar performances by the two leads. YOU GO TO MY HEAD is a rare cinematic experience that's filmed in a classic Art House style while still embracing modern storytelling techniques and technology. It's unique and unforgettable.

Taking up several Hitchcockian themes (irrationality, lost identity, romantic passion, memory, love obsession) the director builds a solid melodrama in the dunes, visually exquisite and with a surprising twist.

Few fears are as grippingly primordial as the fear of losing our sense of self. You Go To My Head dives deep into this fear, and the result will have you on the edge of your seat. We know almost nothing about the film's restless heroine Kitty, but we feel the desperate echoes of her loss, her maddening disorientation, and most intensely, her utter helplessness at having to rely on the kindness of people who might or might not be strangers.

As terrifying as this is for Kitty, she bravely attempts to play the part of "myself" to the best of her understanding. At the same time, mystery man Jake dips his toes into the role of her would-be/once-was husband, but for what purpose? Amplified by the searing desolation of Morocco, these high wire exploits are enough to make a viewer dizzy, but the story is effectively grounded by a larger framing question: is it possible to love when you don't know who you are?

De Clercq's debut film achieves all this with a remarkable economy of elements, windswept sands, unsettling waters, and stark architecture. It's probably no coincidence that these same elements were used to great effect by such filmmakers as Wertmüller, Polanski, and Antonioni. Their footprints are everywhere here. But de Clercq's film is altogether too personal, and too personally heartfelt, to be decoded so easily. Perhaps for the filmmaker, as it is for his beloved Kitty, the same forces of nature that at first seem to be slowly closing in, are ultimately pointing the way to liberation.

I found this film utterly absorbing from the first frame. I was mesmerized by the wonderful cinematography which perfectly captured the stark desert landscapes. The film was further enhanced by its austere score. The images and sounds complimented the account of the main character, a woman, who has lost her memory as a result of a concussion. She is discovered unconscious in the desert by an older man who identifies himself as an architect. What unfolds is a complex questioning of what constitutes identity. As the story unfolds through the eyes of the amnesia victim, the viewer becomes drawn into her psyche and puzzles over what is real and what is fantasy. Although I found this a bit unsettling, it added the right amount of mystery making the movie extremely absorbing. The narrative, acting, and dialogue were all excellent. The design of the architect's home was starkly beautiful and fascinating. I highly recommend this movie.

I saw this film at last year's Weyauwega International Film Festival in Wisconsin. The story is fascinating and will most likely divide audience members on the ethical quandary of the main characters. Thought provoking, beautifully filmed and well acted. I understand the film was made on very small budget yet it is more original, artistic and entertaining than most big budget films.