A Finger, Two Dots Then Me

As much as I would like to think of myself as a cool guy who fits into every situation and appreciates all of beauty, the truth is that I'm much stiffer and closed off than that, so when a short film comes to be promising beat poetry about love, loss and the afterlife, then my reaction is more "go on then" than anything else. This is how I came into this film if I am honest and I was never going to sit through it snapping my fingers in appreciation etc. However, how I came in is less important than how I left the film and I exited with much more goodwill and interest because the film and the poem won me over.

Brown is a big deal in the world of modern poetry although I must confess I have never heard of him. The film sees him in a basic room with some pictures pinned to a black background behind him. The film uses animation and well-filmed shots to illustrate around what he is saying to good effect – with warm images, images of fantasy and space, images of death and fading, none of them stark or shocking but all of them effective in support and never taking your focus off the words being said. Brown's delivery is good and he acts out his words well while the actually poem is engaging fresh and natural. It wanders between humor, delicate expressions, love, hope and security and I enjoyed it for all of these. These also helped counter the feeling that poetry is pompous or self-important (sorry, my preconception) because it was touching, engaging and cleverly written. The use of Mogwai as the backing music a natural fit and a good choice.

Despite how I came in the door, this is a strong piece of modern poetry and the short film builds well around it and Brown to compliment and support but never distract or detract.