RHYTHMS
OF THE HEART
43
min. 16mm. col. sd. 1990
"In
Rhythms of the Heart, Steve Sanguedolce's affinity for expressionistic
documentaries turns to the depiction of a ruined relationship. Rhythms
of the Heart typifies many of the Escarpment School concerns in
its blend of personal narrative and landscape, redrafting its romantic
heritage in a love story that deconstructs narrative traditions
even as it tears its characters apart. Sanguedolce insistently replays
loss through a metaphorical landscape while tirelessly focusing
on the personally domestic. The films' centre presents a myriad
of visual enclosures such as sparsely lit studios, counter tops
or framed bathrooms. The characters search throughout the film to
find space within the maze of these settings which could allow them
to live without the (Dionysian) dissolutions of sexual passion or
the (Apollonian) dictates of the law". -
Mike Hoolboom
Rhythms
of the Heart is both deeply personal and sharply analytical. It
is a breathtakingly multi-leveled experience, one of the most mature
and fully realized experimental films of recent years -
Amnon Buchbinder, Vancouver International Film Festival 1990
"After
the successes of direct cinema moviemakers like Leacock and Pennebaker,
it was hoped that the widescale dissemination of home media equipment,
specifically the introduction of super-8, would establish a grass
roots imaging network that would loosen Hollywood's fatal grip.
The advent of cheap, portable home video recording will draft the
next chapter in the ongoing struggle between private and public
spheres. what remains to be seen is whether domestic technologies
can be put to uses beyond simple illustrations of reigning ideologies.
(This is my house. This is my car. This is my husband. This is my
rose bush.) Rhythms of the Heart is exemplary in this regard, as
an exploration of the join between daily technologies and everyday
life. While its mannered excesses vault it well beyond the scope
of most home made productions, its resolutely personal focus makes
it a harbinger of things to come"
- Mike
Hoolboom, The psychotechnology of everyday life (excerpt)
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