“WUR,” directed by Ant Honey (Anthony Rodriguez)

San Diego Short Film Festival

Experimental

TRT 25:22

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No plot summary needed here – this is a collection of scenes with narrated poetry from the collection “Wake Up Running” by Ant Honey.

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Visually, this is a series of mostly disconnected vignettes of life in and around Chicago. You’ll recognize the waterways and the “L” footage instantly, anchoring the images in a solid way despite the heavy filtering meant to look like weathered Super-8 film. This is iPhone capture, but it ably mimics the eye-to-the-viewfinder style that those old hand cameras necessitated. While the editing may seem random (and it may be, to some extent), the scenes themselves are deliberate and thoughtfully executed.

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Audibly, this is a sharply cacophonous score (by Bill Mummy – and no, right now you’re thinking of Bill Mumy and this isn’t him) and Honey’s flat delivery of a series of poems without a noticeable through line but with repeating themes of relationship routines, waking up to face the day and life musings. The soundtrack at times rises and falls in a way that occasionally clips the poetry, so it’s not entirely clear what the words were.

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The primary feeling evoked by “WUR” is one of disconnection. This was once pristine digital footage, and it has been artificially and thoroughly washed through digital filters to look like it’s being projected from long forgotten and mistreated film. But the images haven’t earned that age and wear, and we know that.

And when the soundtrack clips the words being spoken, is that an indication that the words don’t matter? Is the lack of emotion in the delivery also an indication that the words don’t matter? Combined with the visuals, the whole adds up to artifice and distance from the life being viewed and discussed in a slice-of-life manner.

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The run time may seem daunting, but it’s to Honey’s credit that “WUR” doesn’t feel like it’s nearly a half hour long. For those of you with a strong aversion to the avant-garde, I would suggest that being in an alternative state of mind may improve your experience.