Michael Almereyda documents his world travels in PARADISE
PARADISE (Michael Almereyda, 2009)
Maysles Institute
343 Lenox Ave. between 127th & 128th Sts.
Saturday, December 12, suggested admission $9, 3:30
212-582-6050-9400
www.mayslesinstitute.org
Over the last decade, writer-director Michael Almereyda (NADJA, HAMLET, THIS SO-CALLED DISASTER) has traveled around the world, bringing with him a handheld digital-video camera, capturing brief moments of unscripted real life of friends, family, and strangers. He has organized these small vignettes into forty-four segments divided into four somewhat thematic sections, coming together as a beautiful whole in PARADISE, an enticing visual poem that had a one-week run at MoMA this past September and now will be screened at the Maysles Institute on December 12, followed by a Q&A with Almereyda and curator Livia Bloom. The film opens with a long shot inside a stunningly blue airport passageway over music by DJ Spooky, welcoming viewers into Almereyda’s travels. He then turns his camera on a succession of children experiencing everyday life in different parts of the globe, including one charming boy who falls into a little pool to the delight of those around him. Each part — ranging from a few seconds to a few minutes — is linked either thematically or visually, including a series of shots involving fire, sparks, and a burning red sunset. Using natural sound and light, Almereyda allows each moment to exist in real time on its own, with no narration and no identifying tags, a sort of abstract meditation on the simple things than can serve as personal paradises.