Drawing Restraint 9

I just saw this the other day. I Was in the second row of the cinema so close to all these weird happenings. I knew that it would be slow and hardly without a story. With that in mind I really liked the slow moving pictures, the building of the big Vaseline-sculpture, and the meeting between Björk and Barney(it takes a long time before they actually meet on screen)

I see why some people would find it annoying, but to me it had some stunning visuals and the music was really good.

Just sit back and relax and don't expect much more than two hours of slow moving and weird stuff.

DR9 shouldn't really be thought of as a film in the traditional sense of the word, nor should it sit alone, its part of a greater work of art, the clue is in the title! To really appreciate the film it helps to see it in relation to sculpture and the way objects interact within a chosen space. also the resonance of ritual and especially Japanese shinto can bring a certain amount of meaning and clarity to some of the more obscure sequences in the film. even though it seems very 'serious and arty' on the surface ,there is humour and romance and the film! try not to see it as a finite static thing, but something that can change according to the multiple layers you allow yourself to perceive it on.

There's no dialogue for a while, and then there's some Japanese dialogue, and all the while, I didn't really know what was going on. I was lost at pretty much all times, but that was to be expected. This had "avant-garde" written all over it, and for being an art piece, I guess it's sporadically interesting. It probably achieves what it sets out to do, but whatever that is feels unclear to me. If you want to dive in, there's probably a lot to chew on, but as to whether it would taste any good, who knows. Probably not. But it's challenging. That's more of an observation rather than something that makes it bad or good. And there's some music here composed by Bjork, though she didn't do all the music it seems. I don't know.

That's my take away. I don't know.

Drawing Restraint 9 (5 stars)

Director Matthew Barney Writer Matthew Barney Stars Matthew Barney, Björk Certificate tbc Running time 135 minutes Country USA / Japan Year 2005

Matthew Barney is a visual artist. Think 'film' as in the sort of media that might attract the attention of the Turner Prize or, its American equivalent (with an international remit), the Hugo Boss award. The most recent Hugo Boss award was won by a Brit, Tacita Dean (who has also been shortlisted for the Turner). Barney won it back in 1996 and has garnered a string of prizes since. So you could say that, in his field, he's comfortably at the top of the heap.

I mention all this because you may come to a review of his film with the question, "But will I like it?" And while that question is still open, it is probably rather better than, "Is it any good?"

Although Barney has his critics, even in the art world, to suggest his stuff is rubbish is maybe a bit like saying Meryl Streep can't act: her finished work may vary in quality but it's the product of someone at the top of their profession. But even if Drawing Restraint 9 is great art – of which this reviewer is unqualified to say – it is reasonable to wonder whether going to the cinema should entail the attitude of mind that going to see a Tate Modern multi-media application might demand. Surely a film-goer has every right to judge a fill as a movie rather than an art exhibit?

Drawing Restraint 9 demands more – or perhaps a rather different type – of application to the type of movie commonly at art house cinemas. Yet I recall the delightful shock of seeing Bunuel's Un Chien Andalou – that unapologetically surrealist outburst that resulted from his friendship with Salvador Dali. Or Andy Warhol's Screen Tests, that reveal astonishing depth in the personalities instructed not to move or blink for four minutes. More recently Béla Tarr's masterpiece, The Man From London, where the scenery carries a force as powerful as the plot or characters. These people dared to use moving pictures in a different way, and cinema is (in my opinion) better for them.

Matthew Barney has little or no interest that I can deduce in conventional cinematic form. When it comes to film, it is as if he started with a blank page, or another medium upon which to bend like sculpture and ideas. Fans of his earlier Cremaster cycle of films will recognise a certain organic development in his films: the plots and persons seems to grow in a way that mimics the growth of crystals, or of speeded up plant growth, all redolent with arcane or sexual symbolism.

Drawing Restraint 9 seems to me a more rounded and mature work than his Cremaster opus. It is more tightly structured and coherent. The viewer can piece together the threads of stories by patient observation. The work of a Japanese whaling ship and various issues surrounding its trade, and the Shinto marriage ceremony on board. During an intense lightning storm the tea ceremony / marriage ceremony takes on disturbing dimensions that set our mind and senses racing.

Barney's (real life) partner, Bjȍrk also combines many new ideas in creating the music. The main suite is written for the sho, one of Japan's most ancient instruments. She worked with Noh theatre scholars to develop musical settings for a poem to produce an authentic, haunting sound.

Drawing Restraint 9 is no more an easy cinematic experience than a Rodin is a catchy picture postcard. But it rewards serious attention and its lyrical and elegiac qualities make the journey an interesting one. The strange visual experiences will leave an impression even on viewers that don't delve beyond the surface. Those that do, will find Barney has drawn his cinematic sculpture on sound ideas and symbols of substance.

This experimental film is utterly gorgeous. Barney's film's are as ambitious as any Hollywood blockbuster. The visuals are stunning and the soundtrack by Bjork is the best music to date for one of the artist's projects. If this film comes to your town, I highly recommend checking it out. The narrative structure is somewhat unusual and the film contains almost no dialogue. I found the experience reminiscent of my first time seeing Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey". If you're looking for action, this may not be your cup of tea (ha ha). The Japanese locations, the costumes, music, sets, cinematography & special effects create a seamless and highly polished package.