Rhythm in Light: A weird little trip into the eye

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, that depends on your tolerance for 1930s experimental art. If you want a traditional story with characters you can root for, skip this. You will probably hate it. If you want to see how someone in the 30s thought music looked through a prism, you’ll dig it. It’s like a screensaver from a dream.

It’s only a few minutes long. You aren't losing much if you just sit down and stare at it. It’s pure visual noise, in a good way.

The shapes are the stars

There is this moment where a pyramid just keeps spinning. It made me think of the early stuff like The Great Bird Mystery, not because they are similar, but because they both feel like someone was just playing with a camera in a dark room. It’s raw. It’s messy.

Sometimes the screen gets really cluttered. It’s like someone spilled a jewelry box onto a mirror. I found myself trying to find a pattern in the chaos, but I don't think there really is one. The movie doesn't care if you 'get it'. It just wants you to watch the lights.

Odd observations:

• The Grieg music is a choice. It makes the whole thing feel like a fancy party that went on for three days too long.
• The sparklers at the end? Totally unnecessary. I loved them.
• I’m still not sure what a musical staff looks like in this movie. It kept morphing into a ring. Maybe my eyes are bad.

This isn't as narrative-heavy as The Adventurer, obviously. It’s more of a mood. You don't analyze it; you just kind of let the soft focus wash over you. It feels dated, sure, but it also feels like the grandfather of every weird music video you saw on MTV in the 90s.

It’s a bit pretentious, but in a way that feels earnest. You can tell they really thought they were onto something huge with these prisms. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it just looks like a blurry pyramid. 🎇