Heartbreaking Bravery

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Tag: necessary

March 6, 2014

Dum Dum Girls – Are You Okay (Short Film)

It’s probably fair to say that when most people woke up today, they didn’t think they’d be watching a Dum Dum Girls short film written and conceptualized by Bret Easton Ellis that eclipsed 11 minutes. Yet, that’s exactly what happened to a large section of the people who pay attention to those kinds of things- and we’re all the better for it. There’s a compelling vagueness to the film itself (which includes some gorgeous additional score work from Tamaryn and Drew McDowell), that centers around a rich psychologically-involved narrative. Brewer is at the helm of the strikingly visual Are You Okay and throws in characteristically seductive flourishes throughout.

After an intense opening sequence that establishes Dum Dum Girls’ lead personality Dee Dee Penny as a patient in a therapy session (after an evocative opening shot of a desolate landscape that pans outwards over the sound of heavy breathing) who’s challenged to recreate an imaginary double of herself. As Penny goes deeper into the task, fully embracing all of its set parameters, Are You Okay begins to mount a sense of dread. Charles Ray’s postmodern Two Boys art piece is used masterfully throughout, intensifying the feeling of disorientation.

“Are You Okay?” winds up being the film’s centerpiece- and rightfully so, as this is ostensibly a showcase to serve the song (one of Too True‘s stronger highlights). The goth-noir tendencies are perfectly suited to the progressing tension that’s so present throughout the entirety of Are You Okay. While the song itself does lend a new dynamic to the film, it’s the introduction and epilogue pieces that drive the song to noticeably greater heights. All in all, it’s a gorgeous piece of multidimensional art that ignores the limitations of traditional formatting. As a result, it’s one of the most compelling things to have been unveiled in the artist/video category this year. Watch it below and get treated to some world-class cinematography and surprisingly exceptional acting.

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February 4, 2014

Vaadat Charigim – Ein Nehama Ladoachim (Music Video)

Vaadat Charigim released one of 2013’s best tapes with The World Is Well Lost and since that Burger release, they’ve released stunning videos for “Odisea” and “Kezef Al Hamayim“. Just recently, the Tel Aviv band unveiled another video for The World Is Well Lost‘s sl0w-burning “Ein Nehama Ladoachim”, which may be their most singular visual piece to date. It’s a striking clip, to be sure, that features the band playing the song in an abandoned mall. There’s an emphasis on transcendent Kaminski-indebted cinematography, allowing an eerie tension to permeate the clip. That tension is elevated to another level when paired with the record’s commentary-heavy lyrics.

Many of the songs on The World Is Well Lost deal with wars both personal and political, in one way or another. With that knowledge, an abandoned building suddenly becomes a haunted shelter, a clip of a hovering plane becomes foreshadowing, Hello Kitty transforms from a beloved children’s icon into a cruel reminder, and the very act of music suddenly becomes a personal brand of activism. These elements are things that Vaadat Charigim not only understand but thrive on. It’s those same principles that make their music necessary listening and their videos necessary viewing. When art can function on multiple levels and stand for something as important as a call for peace, kindness, and personal independence- no matter how basic- it’s worth celebrating. Watch “Ein Nehama Ladoachim” below.

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