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★★★★ Stars
Directed by: #HesamRahmani
Written by: #HesamRahmani
This gorgeously artistic music video was created for the song Illness Brings Understanding by Item Caligo. Item Caligo is a one-man project of Sergey Epifanov, an artist based in Volgograd, Russia. The type of genre that his music follows is considered, by himself, as ambient, modern classic and minimal – which truly sums up what the ears are met with. This style is an excellent match for the style the music video presents itself as. The song is soothing but with a lot of depth to it; that specific sense of depth intertwines with the film as it carries a mysterious and beautifully brooding ambience.
The story that unfolds doesn’t appear to want to be followed by the closed mind, it may contain a meaning that the creator has hidden within but the sheer creativity and intense detail is incredibly immersive. One aspect that really stood out to me was the fact that no character present, even in scenes together, seems to directly interact with one another. The attention is more focused upon the camera lens or the soil. The beings stare at the audience through the camera or slightly hang their heads as they stare at the ground below their feet. That invisible barrier between the characters, as well as the connection to the audience, adds to the heavy atmosphere and creates many exciting questions surrounding the relationship between the individuals and their actions onscreen.
Following the statement of the brooding ambience that is present, the setting of the video is dark itself and, at times, a shot is lit simply by a large flame held by a character. The video almost wears a blackened mask, physically in regards to the setting and also within the unravelling plot. This blackened mask is only broken a few times with certain bursts of coloured smoke. Even though the smoke is vibrant in colour, the darkness is obviously still in existence as the smoke is dense, swallowing the characters it encircles.
Scenes of dripping or stained blood are shown towards the ending of the video, completely validating the looming sense of acute iniquity. I feel compelled by my own enjoyment of the video to add that these more distinct shots are so wonderful; they are probably the brightest shots throughout the entire video which shows their significance to the viewer. I highly praise the director of photography and editor, Hesam Rahmani (also the main director and writer of said video,) for his evident talent in filmmaking as well as great attention to detail.
The overall editing of the video also can be said to have an impact on the created ambience. The characters’ onscreen sequences are edited together with a mixture of slow motion sections, sharp cuts between different takes and the original stance that was filmed. As mentioned previously, the video carries a sense of mystery, and this range of editing choices strengthens that perception flawlessly.
The music video for Illness Brings Understanding is a magnificent, captivating piece of film. Every element of the video leaves a strong impression on the viewer and definitely raises hairs on the back of the neck – in the most positive way possible. This is such an expressive production and, like its matching music, the video is peaceful but still holds contrast through its somewhat unsettling nature.
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