May 6, 20212 min read

The Flying Fish - Short Film Review

★★★★★

Written & Directed by: #MuratSayginer

Short Film Review by Taryll Baker

The journey of a flying fish marks the beginning of the transition to a new era.

Wow. Talk about an experience. Murat Sayginer is all about focusing the mind on the abstract in The Flying Fish; a crystallising, immensely engrossing experimental piece crammed with symbolism. The metaphorical elements are overflowing, paired with insanely colourful visuals masterfully coordinated from scene to scene. This is truly an inspiring build of visual storytelling. Even if it’s not understandable to some viewers, The Flying Fish holds an extremely beautiful display of animation and music.

The film opens with what appears to be shiny, very nicely rendered balls, that form around a circular shape… from there it escalates and evolves into scenes of vibrant imagery, deep thinking and exploration, dark inklings inside futuristic bodies. There’s constant construction happening throughout this 20-minute work of art that encapsulates the human evolution and experience. As the film journeys through these experiences and key moments, the soundtrack by Jochen Mader, Murat Sayginer and Onur Tarcin journeys with it. Having Sayginer as writer, director and composer makes for an entirely ‘hands-on’ project, in which the music and visual language can become fluent.

The Flying Fish isn’t dissimilar to that of a crazy high-budget visual that would go with an artist for a music festival. Imagine you’re in a crowd dancing to the latest influential DJ, while they blast their electronically dripping music with a killer amount of visual effects and dry ice machines. Putting the entire audience in a trance with their ears musically blessed with pumping beats and soothing synths. The Flying Fish does that for all its runtime, while offering up the story of man and woman created. Life is begun, and then ended, but when that door closes, does another open?

Do we earn credits from our years on Earth that can then be used to subscribe to a whole new life, dropping a different pin on the map? The Flying Fish has an interesting idea of ‘the end’ during the final minutes. A meaty and enticingly sharp concept has been strikingly brought to the screen with stunning visual effects, lighting, colouring, music and editing. This is a fantastic experimental film that goes full throttle into the ultimate experience of life.

- #TaryllBaker