Kluane2011

Although there are some cool moments in this short film, often it becomes too experimental for its own good (shaky camera, choppy editing, upside down images) calling attention to itself and leaving the viewer with little more than a headache and glazed eyes. There are much better short films in this series. Check them out.

The idea of combining experimental cinema with Canadian National Parks is an interesting one, but it doesn't quite come together here. Experimental cinema is at its most powerful when it is done with purpose, to jar us into seeing something we had grown blind to. Unfortunately, the experimentation here is aimless. There are deeper social issues in Kluane that could be addressed through experimental form, but they are not, instead opting to emphasize "otherworldly beauty." This leaves the provocations hollow, and fails to redeem the often shaky and careless filming. If celebration of natural beauty was the point of this film, Kluane did not need embellishment.

The coolest shot in the film is the thumbnail, where a distant mountain remains static, inverted, across the water, while the pavement of the highway rushes by overhead. Moments like that earned it three stars from me, despite its flaws.