Reaction to Passage

I thought the film Passage was really interesting. I loved the use of color and light, and the flickering between light and a black screen. As a film projectionist, I identify flicker with being in a theater, watching film, hearing the hum of a projector, and it becomes a really comforting environment. I also really enjoyed the soundtrack- a huge array of sounds and soundscapes came into play, which made it a challenge to identify what they were. I also really enjoyed the repetition of the finger tapping sound, it gave the piece a poignant rhythm. After we viewed it and discussed synesthesia, it really makes me think that a synesthete would experience something very similar to this when viewing colors. Maybe Passage can be the everyman’s glimpse into synesthesia.

I think the repetition of the shapes was interesting, and also gave the piece a great deal of rhythm. About halfway through the film, I remember thinking "what if this film has repeated the same colors and shapes in the same order, just with different sounds?" If they had done that, I'm not sure whether I would have noticed or not. Not that I actually suspect them of pulling a fast one on me, but the point is that it didn't really matter whether they had been repeated or not, I just really enjoyed allowing the pictures to flash by. This tends to be the way I enjoy watching a lot of film. Not that I don’t like searching for meaning as much as the next film student, but there is certainly something to be said for those moments in a film where you can take a break from analyzing, and just allow the pictures and sound to wash over you and not try to govern or predict where they go or how they make you feel.

All in all, I liked it a lot on an aesthetic level. The rhythm was really compelling. Also, I tend to like a lot of colors in every aspect of life, and this film was just so vibrant that it’s hard to be unaffected by it. If you asked me to tell you what it meant, I'd be completely clueless, however I don't feel like the meaning is the point in this piece, so maybe it's okay that I didn't pick up on one. Not every film is meant to say something, and I think that this one is like that: it doesn’t say anything, it just wants you to feel something.