Ari Aster, Midsommar, 2019
Andrea suggested that I watched the film, Midsommar.
'Storyline: Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after a family tragedy keeps them together, a grieving Dani invites herself to join Christian and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. What begins as a carefree summer holiday in a land of eternal sunlight takes a sinister turn when the insular East-European villagers invite their guests to partake in festivities that render the pastoral paradise increasingly unnerving and viscerally disturbing.'
IMDB (2019) Midsommar Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8772262/ (Accessed: 9 December 2020)
'Storyline: Dani (Florence Pugh) and Christian (Jack Reynor) are a young American couple with a relationship on the brink of falling apart. But after a family tragedy keeps them together, a grieving Dani invites herself to join Christian and his friends on a trip to a once-in-a-lifetime midsummer festival in a remote Swedish village. What begins as a carefree summer holiday in a land of eternal sunlight takes a sinister turn when the insular East-European villagers invite their guests to partake in festivities that render the pastoral paradise increasingly unnerving and viscerally disturbing.'
IMDB (2019) Midsommar Available at: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8772262/ (Accessed: 9 December 2020)
My reflections:
I was quite disappointed with the film over all. I thought the beginning set the scene for something interesting, and the premise was clever, but once the protagonists arrived at the commune I felt that it didn't live up to expectations, sadly.
A horror movie set in the brightest sunlight at midsummer in a quaint Swedish Amish-like community; it could have been astonishing, unexpected, but sadly it became farcical, in my opinion. Too much of a Hollywood blockbuster, sadly. Severed limbs planted in flowerbeds, utterly unrealistic fallen bodies.... But the idea is certainly interesting. It definitely had elements of anti narrative in it. The idea of horror & suspense in the bright daylight is creepy and nerveracking as it's not what is expected of the genre. I wonder if it would have been more tense if it had been subtitled?
I'm glad I watched it, as it's made me think about ritual. What is the place of ritual in my practice? Why use ritual? It's happening without me planning it. Why? And what am I doing that makes people think of ritual? I have researched and reflected on this further here Ritual 15.11.20
'Ritual, the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by tradition or by sacerdotal decree. Ritual is a specific, observable mode of behaviour exhibited by all known societies. It is thus possible to view ritual as a way of defining or describing humans.'
Penner, H (2016) Ritual Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ritual (Accessed: 11 November 2020)
I was quite disappointed with the film over all. I thought the beginning set the scene for something interesting, and the premise was clever, but once the protagonists arrived at the commune I felt that it didn't live up to expectations, sadly.
A horror movie set in the brightest sunlight at midsummer in a quaint Swedish Amish-like community; it could have been astonishing, unexpected, but sadly it became farcical, in my opinion. Too much of a Hollywood blockbuster, sadly. Severed limbs planted in flowerbeds, utterly unrealistic fallen bodies.... But the idea is certainly interesting. It definitely had elements of anti narrative in it. The idea of horror & suspense in the bright daylight is creepy and nerveracking as it's not what is expected of the genre. I wonder if it would have been more tense if it had been subtitled?
I'm glad I watched it, as it's made me think about ritual. What is the place of ritual in my practice? Why use ritual? It's happening without me planning it. Why? And what am I doing that makes people think of ritual? I have researched and reflected on this further here Ritual 15.11.20
'Ritual, the performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by tradition or by sacerdotal decree. Ritual is a specific, observable mode of behaviour exhibited by all known societies. It is thus possible to view ritual as a way of defining or describing humans.'
Penner, H (2016) Ritual Available at: https://www.britannica.com/topic/ritual (Accessed: 11 November 2020)