151. Those That, At Distance, Resemble Another; movie review

 

 

THOSE THAT, AT  DISTANCE, RESEMBLE ANOTHER

Cert TBA

67 mins

BBFC advice: TBA

What is the point of a documentary about a creative process if it doesn't explain to the viewer what is going on?

I knew nothing about creating a replica of an elephant's tusk - and, after more than an hour of watching Those That, At Distance, Resemble Another, I still don't.

According to its promotional assets, Jessica Sarah Rinland's feature traces the tusk through its "many stages of construction, revealing the exacting craft and care involved."

But why is there no clear narrative?

Instead, the viewer is left to sit, without explanation, through various boring sequences - including, three minutes of something being wrapped in plastic.

It is worth testing oneself to see if concentration can be maintained for all 180 seconds. I failed and began to play with my phone.

And this is not the only occasion when Rinland tested my patience - there are also two minutes spent flicking the pages of an inventory of culture sales at the British Museum.

I just don't understand why she doesn't make it easier for the audience and expand on the occasional, perfunctory narrative.

Instead, the audience is left to read between the lines of the briefest conversations between people who are already immersed in the process.

I have read a review which states that there is humour during Those That, At  Distance, Resemble Another.

If only that had been true. Instead, there was mind-numbing tedium and a classic case of the Emperor's New Clothes.

In fact, I would go further - I think it is arrogant of a film-maker to presume that their audience should be on the same plain.

If they have a story to tell, they should do so with clarity - otherwise how the heck are we going to learn anything?

Sadly, Jessica Sarah Rinland seems to believe in keeping her subject opaque or at least restricted to those in the know.

In e 

In 

Reasons to watch: If you are soothed by people doing mundane jobs

Reasons to avoid: Stupendously dull

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None 

Overall rating: 1.5/10

Did you know? The Malawi-Zambia landscape has emerged as a major ivory transit and source landscape because of its geographic location. Ivory moves from northern Mozambique, southeastern Tanzania and Zambia through to Malawi where it is illegally processed for consumer markets in Southeast Asia and China.

The final word. Jessica Sarah Rinland: "After meeting Nigel Bamforth, furniture conservator at the Victoria & Albert Museum and finding out more about the cupboard of ivory—where it came from and how it was being used—I sat on it for a year or two. There were many ways the project could have gone. It’s a sensitive subject so I didn’t want to start on initial impulse—obvious questions about the continuation of colonialism in institutions or animal rights." Fim Comment

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