Permian Flow
By Miguel Coyula • Jan 31st, 2004 • Category: ExperimentalBill Kersey’s Permian Flow is an experimental minimalist short which uses images of the beauty, quietness, and changing seasons of nature, counter-pointed with radio recordings of War News, politicians, and all kinds of damage inflicted to humans by humans from World War II to 9/11. Beautifully shot in the mountains of Arizona and Colorado, the sound design is solid, the visuals are flawless, and most importantly its concept and message is very effectively conveyed.
Kersey has an uncommon sensibility. All his films are different from each other, yet they are all unique in the sense that so far he doesn’t seem interested in any of the most common Microcinema trends: Vampires, zombies, gore, or tough guys shooting each other while wearing sunglasses indoors.
Some people might be tempted to call Permian Flow “artsy” or “boring,” and it certainly is not for all tastes. But it’s a very unusual, refreshing piece. It reminds me of an era when films really used to be a conceptual art, rather than plot-oriented entertainment. French avant-garde filmmaker Chris Marker comes to mind. They just don’t make many movies like that anymore. Permian Flow owes a lot to that school of filmmaking, and I applaud it for that.
Four stars.
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Miguel Coyula is the director of the $2,000 sci-fi epic Red Cockroaches. His next project is Memorias del Desarrollo, a follow-up to the Cuban classic Memorias del Subdesarrollo (1968), based on the novel by Cuban writer Edmundo Desnoes
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