Ouroboros

Asharif's work with "video time" - moving forward, backward, entangles the digital into a community of exiles. This film spans from Los Angeles to Italy to Palestine but it really is more about time, histories and the dissolution of community than about the geography of the places that are being filmed. Each location is the story of that location and each scene a poetic hint to a connection that was lost.

For me this film represents an altered consciousness; a dreamlike representation of what it must feel like to be in a permanent state of wandering through the world, a stranger in a strange land. As observers, we travel along, from the beach, to streets to a home, to a neighborhood and still more "home", but there is always a sense it isn't really a place to just be, but to wander further from. Sequentially too, we are taken from a place where there is just one person, (they are moving backwards) as if they had come from a place of community, which is where we find ourselves headed next. If you are looking for a traditional plot, you will most likely feel a lack. The image of an ouroboros suits the film, as it feels like we symbolically end up where the dream/vision first began. The scarce dialogue (and much of that muffled or totally unintelligible) genuinely contributes to the dreamlike quality.

Watching this film felt like living through a dream. It's one of those films that lingers long after it has finished, and where I am still reflecting on the vast amount of symbolism that was chosen. The most concrete thing I can offer is that there was a strong sense of displacement and I believe that was on purpose, to give the viewer a taste of what that can feel like for those who are pushed out of their homes and away from their homelands. The film maker also did an amazing job at blending the different lands together which added to that sense of disorientation and touched on how land can feel so similar even countries apart. I kept searching for signs to see where had they taken us to now and oftentimes guessed wrong. California felt like Italy at times and like Palestine at others. All in all I am not sure I completely understood this film on a mental level, but on an emotional and spiritual level, it left a lasting impact.