INFLORESCENCE

Unexpected depths and intensities arise when a momentary feeling is put on a loop. The film’s axis is the close-up shot of a rose being bent and beaten to the ground by the wind of a storm’s prelude, against a background of darkened skies and stirred trees, the roof of a house and a fluttering German flag; the moving image, repeated and manipulated back-and-forth at variable speeds, is joined by an anthem-like fragment from the song “Don’t Dream It’s Over” by Crowded House – endlessly reiterated while undergoing subtle, progressive changes of tempo which constantly empty and recharge the cinematic space’s meaning and emotional tone. An invitation to unite to inflorescence, Nicolaas Schmidt’s micro-poem evokes the myriad states and energies that can grow from a single audacious stem. (Georgiana Vrăjitoru)