Jul 13, 20202 min read

PURE SOUNDBATH - Experimental Film Review

Updated: Jul 15, 2020

★★★★★

Directed by: #ChrisLewis

Calm blue waves against a softly lit sky during sunset. — Still from PURE SOUNDBATH

9,000 miles apart, PURE is a collaboration between an English Composer and an Australian Filmmaker, a sensory mind hack for an overstimulated world.

Firstly, this is quite the unique film for me to review. But, I’m very familiar with the world of ASMR (or ‘autonomous sensory meridian response’) and its ever-growing community of creators. If you’re unaware of ASMR, it’s described as a tingling sensation that travels across your body (usually head and spine) and this is caused by visual or audio cues. In Chris Lewis’s PURE SOUNDBATH, binaural recording is used to create ultimate immersion. Utilising a beautifully calm and lush score composed by David Lol Perry, PURE takes us on a journey through some of Australia’s most stunning vistas.

With so much going on in the world right now, it’s important to take time to find some sort of emotional release, and PURE delivers just that. With no narrative, no rushing or dragging in pace, there’s really nothing to think about whilst watching. Let the visuals sweep you away and the music transport you into a state of meditation. David Lol Perry’s soothing score is phenomenally crafted — ethereal choir and expansive, moody strings blend together — as if it’s a single piece of music spanning one hour. Best viewed with headphones, the use of 3D sound excels the experience to breathtaking heights, allowing for peak absorption.

Perhaps my favourite section of PURE is the skilfully captured sunset over the tranquil waves at around forty five minutes in. Chris Lewis, an award winning cinematographer, encapsulates the graceful contrasts of light and dark tones and the result is alluring. The underwater camerawork is worthy of being anyone’s screensaver — cinematic enough to grace Apple’s impressive collection.

As PURE came to a close, after an hour of traversing New South Wales and being exposed to nothing but the airy atmospherics created by Perry, I thought of how great it would be to see this become a series. The duo clearly have a special dynamic and to see more from them would be a great gift to the people that are struggling right about now. To have something like this at hand, accessible to many, would make it a great tool for the practice of meditation. A vivid capsule for thoughts to wander and dissipate, allowing time for the mind and soul to rest. PURE is a peacefully engrossing experimental film.

Watch the trailer for PURE SOUNDBATH here.

#TaryllBaker