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6.2/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.2/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. A Colour Box remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you've got three minutes to spare and want to see what happens when someone decides to treat a strip of film like a canvas, then yes. It’s a total trip for anyone interested in how movies get made, but if you need a coherent story or actual actors, you'll probably hate it.
It’s essentially just shapes moving. Think circles, triangles, and lines that look like they're having a nervous breakdown to the sound of Cuban music. 🎨
Len Lye didn't even bother with a camera here. He just painted straight onto the celluloid, which is a wild thought when you realize how small those frames actually are. Some of it looks like a frantic, rhythmic scratch-pad.
The music is so much louder and more important than anything else going on. It carries the whole thing. Without that specific, bouncy beat, the shapes would just look like random scribbles. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in Jungle Rhythm, just way more abstract.
There’s a section where the colors start vibrating so hard it almost hurts your eyes. It’s pretty impressive for 1935, honestly. I found myself wondering if he had a magnifying glass or just a really steady hand and a whole lot of patience.
It’s not trying to be The Private Life of Helen of Troy. It doesn't want to tell you about love or tragedy. It just wants to exist for a few minutes and leave you feeling slightly disoriented.
I don't think you’re supposed to "analyze" it. You’re just supposed to sit there and let the colors do their thing. It’s refreshing to watch something that isn't trying to sell you a plot point every ten seconds. Sometimes a rectangle turning into a jagged star is enough, right? 🌟
Anyway, it’s a tiny, weird piece of history. Don't overthink it.