Stan Brakhage's "Dog Star Man"

A dark room. Dead silence save for slight coughs at regular intervals. On the screen colours and lines flicker and dance to no rhythm. Anyone who has not yet experienced Dog Star Man would be forgiven for thinking that a film that this silent experimental film that consists almost entirely of flickering colours and lines is the height of tedium. But I found it to be quite the opposite. Sitting there in that theatre, I felt vulnerable, all too human. Its images were powerful. They spoke to me in ways that narrative film often can't. As it went on, I was bombarded with new patterns and images, yet it was more of the same. I looked further into it. There was no music, no sound, just the image. A pure image. What does it all mean, I asked myself. Well, I still don't have a real answer as to what I think it means. But I will say that I know how it made me feel and I will remember it for years to come. RIP Stan Brakhage 1933-2003.