KNOT (2021) - A Darkfield Radio Experience

KNOT is a trilogy, a three-part 360-degree audio experience unfolding in three different locations. Three intersecting, interwoven episodes revolve around a traumatic event and question how inevitable anything is. You are joined on a park bench by a person who is lost in the city. You are in a car heading both towards and away from the park. In a meeting room a cyclical story, tied up like a knot with no ends, is conjured into existence by a collective effort. 

You will need to experience all three for the story to be complete. All you will need to access the experience is your phone, the Darkfield Radio app, your tickets, and your headphones.

When Darkfield first came to New Zealand shores, there was a certain excitement and anticipation set by the unknown. An audio-based adventure, that works by tricking your mind into questioning the body's environment when the eyes are closed. It created a new type of experience, one that was difficult to describe but left a lasting impression. As time has gone by, future episodes have attempted to replicate that initial zeal and wonder, with increasingly complicated narrative structures, playing off on the premise that the other person in the room may not be receiving the same audio that you do.

It has now evolved further, into an all-encompassing 3-part adventure. One event was retrospectively revisited by a number of people in three different locations. An intriguing idea in theory, but one that is difficult to effectively put into practice. With three different audio events (~20 mins, ~25 mins, and ~30 minutes) occurring at one-hour intervals, you will be spending 2.5 hours sitting alone in silence, or waiting half an hour for the next session to begin, as this iteration of Darkfield Radio is a decidedly solo act. The solo act makes it easier for those without partners to participate but means there is nobody to discuss the story with afterwards (and while multiple people can do the same adventure at the same time, all individually sitting in the front passenger seat of a car, or alone on a park bench, creates its own challenges).

Chapter 1 puts forth a repeated situation. Going over an event with someone who is struggling to remember. The repetition adds a variety of different details with each run, with certain background conditions (audio cues) being the only real clue as to the progress of the script. As this is an audio-based adventure, it is best completed with a sleeping mask on (to block out all light) and good (noise-cancelling, if available) headphones. Perhaps my headphones weren't the best, but the depth of sound in some of the elements felt off (e.g. the voice of a person talking next to you feels far too close to the ear), yet other elements were spot on (e.g. the cyclist scraping close by through the gravel) and would cause the body to involuntarily flinch as it passes.

Each chapter comes with its own set of brilliant and less effective elements, which creates a variable mood during the experience, as you switch between questioning your safety on a park bench as the sun starts to set, and the knowledge that you are alone but safe and simply listening to audio.    

There is a level of convolution to Knot which surpasses all previous episodes. It places you in a situation and repeats in varying ways, in a manner that you can tell is connected, but is not explained until the final chapter. The final chapter, however, is still vague, trying to walk the line between mysterious, and unbelievable. As it all comes together, there is an intriguing idea being put forward, but the execution still leaves too many unexplained elements. There is no satisfying resolution. The synopsis speaks of trauma but never faces it.

I love the idea of tricking your brain with well-calibrated sounds, and would still recommend people to give Darkfield Radio a try, but one would hope that in future episodes, a narratively compelling story is the first priority.

KNOT will run from 5pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday from June 25 to September 30, 2021. 

Tickets are available at darkfield.nz/radio

Originally posted to: https://djin.nz/Kr8869

CABARET (1972) [A VINTAGE CABARET CINEMA]

A Vintage Cabaret Cinema celebrates the nostalgia of Auckland’s beautiful atmospheric theatre, screening classic cabaret and musical film titles including the 1972 hit, Cabaret. 

Be transported to the final days of Weimar Germany's cabaret scene in 1930’s Berlin.  Inside the Kit Kat Club, starry-eyed singer Sally Bowles and an impish emcee sound the clarion call to decadent fun, while outside, a certain political party grows into a brutal force. Starring Liza Minnelli and Michael York. Sit beneath the stars and wander back in time with films that share a place in history, and our hearts, and soak in the gilded splendour of the sumptuous Civic.

It's a cool Tuesday evening, winter has been putting a damper on many festivities, but the turnout at The Civic on the first night of the Vintage Cabaret Cinema is reasonable. Not so much of a high-energy affair, but a gentle buzz emanates from The Civic as everyone waits for the film to begin. Stark's Cafe and Bar is full and, despite the chill in the air, the patrons are happily purchasing Kapiti ice creams from the concessions stand. 

With 10 minutes to go until the start of the film, there are a myriad of hushes and energetic conversations in the suitably decorated Civic building; golden towers, statues of humans, animals, and gods alike, there is a prestige and colourful exuberance to the whole affair that seems fitting for a cabaret festival. Starting off the limited cinema screenings is a viewing of the first film to receive an X film rating due to its overtly sexual tones, semi-controversial political messages, and profanity; 1972's film adaptation of Cabaret.

A clean venue with ample staffing and comfortable seating makes for a cozy viewing experience. If you are used to modern cinemas it may take a little while to adjust to the reduced volume and lack of surround sound that The Civic employs, but it does not take long before you get swept up in the film.

The fact that Cabaret is a 1972 film is astounding when you look at the direction of film today. Modern cinema is only starting to truly represent the LGBT+ community and their perspectives in its mainstream media, yet here we have a film that raises discussion around anti-semitism, corruption, religious and sexual intolerance, radicalization and fascism, abortion and sexual exploration, and hedonism, all under the narrative guise of the cabaret. The interwoven nature of topics never lets any themes feel forced, it simply feels like a part of the setting.

49 years later the musical pieces still mesmerize, the jokes still land, and the controversial topics still feel controversial. The narrative direction is more of a meander than a set three-act storyline, but there is so much character development and content to emotionally engage with, that you will still be thinking about it long after you've left the theatre. The content consistently increases in dark, bleak themes as the film progresses, but the musical pieces keep the mood light.

Cabaret was an exceptional choice in film that clearly resonates with the audience, in a setting that feels far more comfortable and relaxing than the usual cinema.

Cabaret is part of 'A Vintage Cabaret Cinema' running from June 22-27

Check out the schedule for A Vintage Cabaret Cinema here

Check out the full schedule for the Auckland Live Cabaret Season here

PERCY V GOLIATH (2020)

 

A Canadian farmer takes on a giant corporation after their GMO’s interfere with his crops.

'Tis the season for underdog man vs corporation films. A wave that started with the success of Erin Brokovich, and more recently Dark Waters and Minamata. Now Percy v Goliath joins the ranks of Hollywood films eager to take advantage of the commercial, religious, and racial conflicts that have led to protest after protest, rally after rally. Another feature film stoking the fires of indignation and turning the focus away from political institutions, instead, towards corporations.

Percy v Goliath is based on a true story and brings a simple farmer at odds with America's leading producer of chemical, agricultural, and biochemical products, Monsanto. Largely revolving around an intellectual property dispute. Monsanto creates a product that accidentally gets mixed in with a farmer's product. Now Monsanto wants a cut of everything that the farmer creates, threatening to bankrupt him if he doesn't. It's an oversimplification of a complicated technological and agricultural debate, but it creates a strong sense of right and wrong for the audience (even if the reality is much more blurred).

There is always a need for balance when casting for such underdog films. To fill seats, the film either needs a strong, well-known lead or it has to have a really good marketing budget. Minamata and Dark Waters went for well-known leads, and Percy v Goliath has again followed suit, with the expectation that Christopher Walken will bring in a larger audience than what the premise could bring in on its own. I mention balance because the downside of using a well-known character is the issue of creating that separation; preventing the audience from fully investing in a story because of the very obviously placed "actor". That forever will be an issue for an actor as well known as Walken and, to be fully honest, he doesn't quite have the strength to pull off the role.

There is always power and impact with the lower class when it comes to the idea of a corporation exploiting people for their own benefit. Less so when it comes to the middle class, who tend to spring to the aid of corporations, in the blind hope that if they are seen to be on the "right" side they will have an opportunity to reap a share of the benefits and profits. It's a curious premise that works at many levels, and while there is a clear selfish vs. selfless debate to be taken into consideration on a person-by-person basis, the reality is that it comes down to Christopher Walken in the lead role to push the discussion in a certain direction.

While the film works hard to implicate the Japanese corporations as the big baddies, it doesn't take too much critical thinking to notice how one-sided the film's perspective is. An issue that reduces your investment and the impact of anything that follows. When one realizes they are only seeing one side of the coin, they re-evaluate the value of the money.

With the script provided, Walken does an amicable job. He presents himself well as a stoic, salt-of-the-earth, generational seed farmer. A man who has worked his way up from nothing, with only the goal of picking the best seeds from his crop each year, to ensure the farm's continual success. The idea that someone else's seed could contaminate his fields and force him to start again from scratch (if he even gets to keep his farm) is an infuriating thought. Much like the dawning realization today that trickle-down economics doesn't work, Percy v Goliath adds another nail to the proverbial coffin of capitalism, with the unequivocal proof that working hard not only doesn't mean you will have a good comfortable life but that you will be targeted by corporations fuelled by greed and that want to control and commandeer any potential profits that you may make.

Percy v Goliath had the potential to be a thrilling dramatic biopic, but the pacing and narrative structure of the film prevented it from reaching its full ability. The lackadaisical manner in which the narrative structure is based prevents tension and suspense from building, as the film's three court cases, start off large, and get skipped over more and more with each progressive case. When the court cases are the crux of the entire film, that is where the focus should sit, but the story is largely distracted by side stories and characters. 

There is something authentic about Walken's performance; his despisal towards being a representative; his hatred of asking for help and being a charity case; and his stubbornness in the face of an unwinnable case. It's formulaic, but still an interesting viewing.

Percy v Goliath is in cinemas from June 10

Originally posted to: https://djin.nz/Kr8864