One of the most brilliant films I have ever seen in capturing mental breakdown/hallucination/drug-induced psychosis is DARK ONE by a relatively unknown video artist, Darryl Miller who worked on it in isolation on a very old computer for over a decade in his home in Cupar, Saskatchewan, Canada (population 579). I only found out about it because I was on a Canada Council council jury that he had applied to for additional funding. I later tracked him down and begged him to let us show it at Hot Docs, where I was a programmer at the time.
This is the note I wrote about it: "A drug-addicted poet searches for spiritual redemption as he cooks up morphine at the kitchen table with his Auschwitz survivor mother and pet bird. This brilliant, hallucinatory immersion into the psyche of Dan Biholar, a soul spiralling into oblivion, pushes the medium of the moving image about as far as it can go. Biholar vacillates between moments of acute self-awareness, disturbing darkness, tender sentiment, lyrical inspiration and delusions of grandeur. Award-winning experimental filmmaker and sound designer Darryl Miller was once in Biholar's shoes. With unsettling accuracy, Miller sculpts a sensory overload of hypnotic soundscape and half-melted psychedelic imagery that submerges us in Biholar's altered states. There is no safe distance from which to observe this visceral blurring between art, psychosis and reality - let's hope our sanity returns when the lights come back on." Darryl has put the film online now, below is the link to his channel. I¹m sure he would appreciate getting feedback about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ElzZCyQH-M Gisèle Gordon On 2017-03-22, 3:05 PM, "Tara" <brendamere...@gmail.com> wrote: >Antonioni, Red Desert > >> On Mar 22, 2017, at 2:36 PM, John Muse <jm...@sonic.net> wrote: >> >> Also Bergman¹s Persona >> >>> On Mar 22, 2017, at 2:12 PM, Gae Savannah <4...@gaesavannah.com> wrote: >>> >>> Cassavetes Opening Night >>> >>> Bergman Though a Glass Darkly >>> >>> >>> >>>> On Mar 22, 2017, at 1:23 PM, Gae Savannah <4...@gaesavannah.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>> Gorgeous breakdown at the end of Last Year at Marienbad (Alan >>>>Resnais) >>>> >>>> The Hole (Tsai Ming Liang) very crazy, intense breakdown. >>>> >>>> Won Kar Wai which one to pick?most of them have twisted coping >>>>methods for devastated emotional conditions. >>>> >>>> Gus Van Sant Last Days (Cobain) >>>> >>>> >>>> I am also digging on childhood trauma theme for an MFA student. >>>> Would appreciate anything on that angle >>>> >>>> Gae Savannah >>>> New York >>>> >>>> >>>>> On Mar 22, 2017, at 12:49 PM, Elizabeth McMahon >>>>><elizmcma...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> >>>>> Polanski's "Repulsion." Alan Parker's "Birdy." Adrian Lynne's >>>>>"Jacob's Ladder." >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Wednesday, March 22, 2017, Gene Youngblood <ato...@comcast.net> >>>>>wrote: >>>>> Friends, I¹m seeking recommendations of feature films with scenes >>>>>that attempt to visualize inner states of mind such as breakdowns >>>>>(Vertigo), nightmares (Spellbound), acid trips (Easy Rider) or any >>>>>other kind of hallucination (Altered States). Ecstatic or horrific >>>>>doesn¹t matter. Thanks. >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> FrameWorks mailing list >>>>> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>>>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> FrameWorks mailing list >>> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >> >> j/PrM >> >> ************************************************* >> >> john muse >> visual media scholar >> haverford college >> he/him/his >> http://www.finleymuse.com >> http://www.haverford.edu/faculty/jmuse >> http://haverford.academia.edu/JohnMuse >> >> ************************************************* >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> FrameWorks mailing list >> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >_______________________________________________ >FrameWorks mailing list >FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks _______________________________________________ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks