Review of Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010) by Anthony A — 28 Sep 2012

An interesting film, both visually / aurally, and in terms the strange premise and execution. It has a style reminiscent of 60's & 70's sci-fi, with its art design, slow pacing, long / close takes, and the audio effects. The overall experience is like a nightmarish hallucination. Unfortunately, the plot is subtle to the point of imperceptibility, and several scenes and events are left entirely unexplained, which makes it hard to follow as a coherent narrative.

But possibly, that's the point. With no reliable POV in the film, the audience is left feeling as mentally burned out and fragmented as the characters. It's not a bad film, but one certainly has to be in the right state of mind to watch it, and this reviewer was left feeling like there was a lot of unexplored & unexamined potential in the premise. It falls short of making a clear statement, except perhaps to serve as a warning as to the pitfalls that may be encountered in trying to uncover the secrets of the universe.