Stan Brakhage II

film 22 of 27

Commingled Containers

Film Review by Dean Duncan Jun 18, 2015

The images of water and of what lies under its surface are beautifully sharp and shining. Interesting things happen when Brakhage mixes an actually recognizable thing from the physical world with those customary, luminously unrecognizable lines. Norman McLaren and the bouncing ball (Mosaic, 1965)? Pee Wee Herman and the sprinkler? As rapturous, as other-worldly or out-of-body as he can be, Brakhage’s reverence is ultimately material, or physical. Sometimes the inclusion of material and physical objects helps his rapture register more joyfully.