I had the honor and absolute pleasure of seeing "Myth of Man" at a theatre in Los Angeles while it was on its North American premiere tour a few days back in December. How I came across this gorgeous art-piece of a movie is an interesting story. A teaser for the movie hit Facebook and Instagram back in September and I was instantly intrigued. Later in October the official trailer dropped along with premiere dates. I saw a sole Los Angeles date and something told me I just HAD to see it so I bought tix for me and the wifey as soon as I could.
Up until then I was totally unaware of Director Jamin Winans' work. An Internet search led me to "Ink", which I saw to familiarize myself. I quickly threw myself into that movie which was made on only $250,000, and had flashes of greatness all throughout; greatness which comes into full fruition with "Myth of Man". After seeing "Ink", I was definitely intrigued.
Before I talk about the movie, I must say that Jamin Winans and his wife Kiowa are absolutely two of the nicest, down to earth, personable and *real* people you are ever going to meet! We were the first ones to check into the movie theatre for the showing and they both came up and introduced themselves and recognized me from some of my Facebook comments on the movie's site. We chatted both before the rest of the moviegoers arrived and after the Q&A session and they seemed genuinely thrilled to show their work and connect with fans. I learned that the film took 3 months to shoot and over 3 years to finish post-production due to Jamin and Kiowa doing all of the 3500 VFX sequences the movie featured BY THEMSELVES! Not only that, they also sold their house and moved to a family farm in Kentucky where they converted an entire barn into a green-screen studio. Talk about dedication!
About the movie...The husband-and-wife team drop the viewer into a wondrous alternate world that is so similar to our own and yet so very different. The world the movie takes place in has elements of 1920's - 1950's noir; with dollops of steampunk, magical realism and bits of Bioshock Infinite thrown in for good measure. It has its own styles of architecture (often gravity defying!), its own unique physics and its own religion and mythology. In many ways, the Winans' have made this world into its own character in the movie.
The movie centers around 4 main characters. Ella (played by Austrian actress Laura Rauch) is a talented artist who is gentle, loving soul. An eternal optimist who sees magic and possibilities everywhere. Seeg (played by Anthony Nuccio) is described as an "art terrorist", an artistic soul with a gruff exterior. Boxback (played by fellow Austrian actor Martin Angerbauer) is a bully and a thug with the ability to amplify his voice as a weapon. Finally there is Caley (played by newcomer Ian Hinton) who is a pickpocket and thief with a heart of gold; and, incidentally, winds up stealing almost every scene he's in with his playful manner and infectious grin.
Only a minor spoiler is that this is a "silent" movie. There *are* sounds, sound effects and music. However, there is no spoken dialogue in the movie at all. The reason for this is made known early in the movie: the main character Ella is deaf and mute, and the sounds (or lack thereof) are filtered through her and her perception of the world. Whereas it might be a big ask to expect the viewer to sit through a silent movie, simply know that this movie packs an enormous artistic and emotional punch without a single word needing to be said.
The story centers on Ella's insistence that she has received a message from the divine...from her creator; and this is where the movie's title comes into play. There is a creation myth which the people of this alternate world believes in which heavily comes into play in Ella's motivations. The creator is believed to be represented by a divine comet that speeds through sky every day during this world's very brief night. The creation myth extolls that the creator's children can make contact with the divine by singing the correct song to it, and Ella spends most of the movie trying to collect enough songs of the people to attempt to make contact.
This is, of course, an over-simplification of the plot but I don't want to spoil anything. What I will say is this.
This is one of the best movies I have seen in a long, long while. There are so many details in the world the Winans' have created. You can easily lose yourself trying to figure out how things work in this world! The movie answers many questions, but leaves SO MANY MORE open for interpretation. The same goes with each of the main characters. You think you know each one at first blush, but wind up learning so much more as the story progresses.
Anyone who is familiar with Jamin Winans' other works also knows the importance of music in his movies, and the same is true in "Myth of Man". Mr. Winans often composes the score to his movies as he's writing them; thus the music itself often becomes a movie character, making each scene more emotionally impactful.
I'll be honest, I spent most of my time watching this movie with my mouth slightly open and in awe trying to take all the details in. There is so much to see, hear and feel in this movie and yet none of it is overwhelming. I was swept along the story and when it was over I hear myself audibly saying "Oh my god..!" at the end. This is a story about love, loss, religion (small r) and...most importantly...human connection. It's a movie you will want to see multiple times to see what you may have missed the last time.
In short, Jamin and Kiowa Winans have created a masterpiece of a movie that reminds us of why we love to go to the movies. To sit in a darkened theater for a couple hours and be completely spellbound by a story and experience that will linger in your mind long after the end credits roll.
