Examine a non-fiction film about filmmaking. I suggest you choose one from the viewings in this Studio. Analyse the stylistic choices in this film in terms of visual storytelling style, editing style, and interview style.
What initially appears to be a cookie-cutter snapshot of suburban family life, Marilee Bennett’s autobiographical documentary, A Song of Air (1988) takes an unexpected turn as she confesses the disharmony in the relationship between her and her now-deceased father. Bennett uses existing footage shot by her father to illustrate and juxtapose her commentary about their family dynamics and changing relationship. She initially paints a stoic image of her father, describing him as her ‘provider’, ‘omnipotent god’ with absolute power. Bennett cuts slowly between still and moving images of herself as a child, held by her father. This patient editing, along with the absence of music allows us to focus on the images and narration that suggests a tight bond and admiration between the two.
As the film progresses, we are gradually introduced to Bennett’s hidden conflict surrounding, what once felt like a protective expression of love, her father’s unachievable ideals that burdened her adolescence. Bennett pieces together images of what her father wanted her to remain; a young, innocent, modest child but her commentary suggests otherwise. She talks about her ‘hunger for the exotic’ and craving for things she was raised to condemn. These sweet archival images are contrasted with recent footage of what appears to be Bennett floating underwater and screaming away from the camera. These juxtaposing images communicate her inner anguish she repressed for so long. This is a visual representation of her suffocation, or drowning, in the expectations and disappointment of her father she once idolised.
The melancholic sound of the piano matches Bennett’s revelation of both wanting to murder her father and longing for his presence she has now lost. We watch her younger self cry which then cuts to her current self sinking, then screaming. These poignant images make up for the lack of emotion expressed in Bennett’s monotoned narration. Her lifeless tone, however, holds just as much storytelling power as it reflects a sense of numbness and suggests Bennett undecided on her feelings towards her father.
Montages can, at times, reflect a lazy approach to editing; a thoughtless collage of images, however, Bennett’s piece is anything but. Every image, every word, is intentional. Nothing is without meaning in this film. The significant snapshots of her past alongside Bennett’s painfully honest narration creates an emotionally charged recount of her childhood and cleverly depicts something so challenging to articulate; her internal battle of both despising and longing for the man responsible for her anguish.
References
A Song of Air 1987, ACMI Collection, directed by Marilee Bennett.