World of Stillness (2005)

Directed by: Elbert Van Strien | 30 minutes | action, drama, thriller, short film, fantasy | Actors: Fedja van Huêt, Ellen de Man Lapidoth, Han Kerckhoffs, Daan Schuurmans, Sacha Bulthuis

Elbert van Strien is a filmmaker to keep an eye on. Someone with original, imaginative ideas, who also knows how to shape them in a visually appealing way. He won a Golden Calf for his short graduation film ‘The Marionette World’, his (short) films ‘The Hidden Face’ and ‘Forbidden Eyes’ won several international (festival) prizes, and for his experimental Kafkaesque thriller ‘Wereld van Stilstand’, which before the film ‘Valse Wals’ by Mark De Cloe was shown in cinemas, he received a Golden Calf nomination. In terms of form, this last project harks back to Chris Marker’s ‘La Jetée’, since this is a photo film, while Van Strien himself (also) mentions Resnais’ ‘L’Année dernière à Marienbad’ as a great cinematic source of inspiration, probably because the changes and mixtures in that film between fantasy, reality, and past and present, and the general power of the mind and memory of man. But the most remarkable thing about ‘World of Stillness’ is the form.

This is not a conventional, literal, moving film, but a story told through static photos; a method that seems to go completely against the essence of film. However, it did not become a photo album for various reasons. The first is that there is movement at the end of the film. Suddenly we see Fedja’s character’s girlfriend in bed blinking and laughing, which is similar to the only scene in ‘La Jetée’ in which movement occurs. The second reason is that some camera work is suggested by zooming in or sliding over the photos using the computer. Many other interesting tricks have also been used to enliven the whole, such as blends and spontaneously appearing collages. This makes the film a bit more dynamic, because, no matter how original the form is, and how effective the narration often turns out to be, it does take a while before the viewer gets used to the sequence of static photos. And every added (illusion of) movement is then included.

By the way, the effectiveness of the assembly is remarkable. Now you can see how important and versatile mounting is. In the scenes with Fedja and the two (potential) murderers you can see how well action and tension can be generated by a skilful sequence and selection of the photos. A shot of a startled Fedja lying in bed, followed by a low angle shot of the two raincoat-clad men at his bedside, pointing pistols in his face. Then an extreme close-up of his eye, then the pistols up close. And motion is sometimes suggested by minute changes in motion between shots, as in stop-motion animation, or by portraying motion through a blur or shadow, using the camera’s slow shutter speed. Van Strien, with his cameraman Guido Van Strien, has experimented with this regularly, so that we come across ‘Koyaanisqatsi’-like shots of light that manifests itself as streaks or spots. The compositions of the shots themselves are almost without exception wonderfully beautiful. Beautiful black-and-white shots of a Fedja rising in its architecturally impressive environment, with buildings that are mainly in Brussels. You can frame practically any picture and hang it on your wall, or on that of a museum.

The environment is imposing and threatening, and Fedja’s character feels this affect his soul, not just in a literal sense. His old college friend (Daan Schuurmans) has become a successful writer, while he himself deserves it sooner. He doesn’t understand, and his world comes to a standstill, which justifies the form of the film, and can’t be labeled just a fun gimmick. Fedja’s character gets mentally tangled and gets bogged down in a Kafkaesque fight of the individual against the “system”. This gradual madness is played subtly by Fedja, which must not have been easy in this form. ‘Wereld van Stilstand’ has become an extraordinarily fascinating art-house film that, after some “boarding time”, nevertheless manages to bind the viewer to the increasing tension in the story, making the film not only a nice idea, but a successful project.