Visitors

Godfrey Reggio first came to international prominence in 1982 with his extraordinary visual essay "Koyaanisqatsi", (I don't think of it as a documentary). This wordless account of 'life out of balance' was followed by "Powaqqatsi" and "Naqoyqatsi", all similarly looking at life on this planet as if seen perhaps by an outsider, an alien observing us but keeping their distance. These films were tone-poems in the most literal sense; wordless they may have been but all driven forward by the continuous, energizing scores of Philip Glass.

He made "Visitors" in 2014. The title alone alludes more to the concept of 'outside' observation although the second face we see, (of many, many faces; the first is that of a large gorilla), is of a young girl looking directly at the camera, followed by that of a man. Who, we find ourselves asking, are the visitors? The faces on the screen? Us, the audience in the auditorium? Are we watching or are we being watched? If "Koyaanisqatsi" was about 'life out of balance' then the measured pace of the shots in "Visitors" would seem to be very much about life in balance although gradually these 'still' images give way to movement, of people in slow motion, of clouds racing across the sky. Children are seen in close-up but they seem to be on a merry-go-round; the balance is being interrupted.

Of course, it's impossible to think of these images without Philip Glass' accompaniment. Perhaps never in the history of the movies has music and image been so conducive to one another than in the films of Godfrey Reggio. Lacking any kind of narrative structure I have often felt his films were more like video installations to be experienced projected onto the walls of an art gallery rather than to be seen in a cinema or on television. They are certainly the kind of films for which the term 'art-house' might have been invented.

"Visitors" is shot in black and white, making it perhaps the most 'art-house' of all his films. Is it boring? I'd be a liar if I didn't say yes but only because we are not used to seeing this kind of film-making, which is hypnotic if nothing else. Is it pretentious? Probably, but in relation to what since no-one else is doing this kind of stuff outside of the avant-garde. What's for certain is, you won't find its like elsewhere.

Wow! The word review does not apply to this film. A review implies an explanation. Which in this case would be like trying to explain a vivid dream several hours later. This film truly is a cinematic experience. A journey that I was twenty five minutes into before I realized that I was not watching a film, but rather a film was watching me. Each emotional nuance expressed created a cascading effect of conscious questions and reflections of the artistry that was unfolding. Masterfully woven images driven by an exquisitely orchestrated musical score. The images accentuate the music, or the music enhances the images. Or it could be completely the other way around? I was fortunate enough to witness the world premiere of this masterpiece at TIFF. The Toronto Symphony Orchestra performed the soundtrack live. Which in itself was a most unique cinematic experience, I strongly suggest live musical accompaniment of film should be repeated not only here in Toronto, but Globally. Everything that is old is eventually new again. Godfrey Reggio, Sir you are a genius. You have created your own artistic genre, you have expanded on it, reinvented it and turned it around on itself to create something completely new. Philip Glass, Sir you are a genius, your music is the life blood of inspiration. To all the cast and crew of this gem of a film, congratulations! And thank you.

I really liked the shot of the gorilla and also the buildings but I couldn't help but not care about the people so I went to write this review instead.

The pacing of the images adds up to a constant slow mo effect, which is nice but gets old quickly.

Being a Philip glass fan I can only like the music but to be fair I wouldn't put it on much by itself. I'd have rather liked to hear some crazy Einstein on the beach rhythms with these images, it might change the tempo and vibe a bit. Wait I can just listen to the album on my headphones and mute this.. later..

It may be too strong of a word, but I liked KOYAANISQATSI and, to a lesser degree, NAQOYQATSI. Maybe I shouldn't use "like," when "appreciate" would be a more accurate description. For what it's worth, Godfrey Reggio has a distinct style of "documentary" filmmaking that combines images and music in interesting ways, and VISITORS is no different in that regard. Where this particular film failed for me is its extreme obliqueness and refusal to contextualize anything or even hint at a possible meaning. Perhaps it's my fault and I "just don't get it," but film appreciation goes both ways, and I shouldn't have to do all of the work. Still, however boring or unengaging I found it, the photography was nothing less than stunning and Philip Glass' music was excellent as usual. As for what's in the film, there was a lot of slow-motion close-ups of people's faces expressing a range of emotions, time-lapse photography of natural elements and man-made structures, a close-up of a gorilla, and aerial photography of the moon's surface. I suppose I could conjecture, based on what is shown and the title, that humanity is interconnected in our emotional expression as well as being "visitors" to Earth (in that we aren't here forever). There was also some juxtaposition between natural and artificial things, but that element was common in both of the previous Reggio films I watched. To be honest, I don't know quite what to make of VISITORS. It looks pretty and has a great score, but its meaning eludes me, and that's why I found it frustrating.

I'm not familiar with Godfrey Reggio's work, but looking him up, he's an acclaimed documentary filmmaker who likes to make movies that have no real plots and instead relies on silent videos and images, set to usually very haunting music. Visitors seems to continue that trend by making a movie that from a visual perspective is fascinating to look at, but from a sit down and watch perspective is a little harder to view. In many respects, this film is basically a challenge to watch, but I don't regret seeing it, because after watching this film, I'm more interested in looking up this man's work than I ever was before.

Visitors has no real plot. Instead it is a film that tries to reveal humanity's "trace-like" experience with technology, which, when commandeered by extreme emotional states, produces massive effects that are far beyond human reach. The film uses footage in black and white of people and places to try and get a particular feeling from the audience.

The films opening should be a warning for the audience. It features a shot of a gorilla played to dramatic music that slowly pans to a shot of what looks like the moon. The first ten or so minutes of the movie is shots of people, but they are very still. It's an impressive feat, considering these are real people, and not trained professional actors. Despite this they manage not to move a muscle, back or forth.

The film has recurring motifs. Shots of the outside of a building are shown ten times or more. The film also has interesting ways of shooting; a slow motion shot of a man yawning, a closeup of kids on what appears to be a merry go round, going back and fourth, a shot of just three heads and so on. There are a lot of fascinating things to watch from a film fan perspective.

The music can go from being slow and mystical, but then it becomes very overpowering, and in some ways, interrupts the film.

Visitors is an interesting experiment. Out of the all of the films I've seen this year, this is probably the most bizarre and surrealistic of all them all. No plot, but the film pulls me in, because of how it is made. I can't really recommended this film to everyone, but I can say, if you're interested in watching a movie that is basically images and music, then go right ahead.