Arts Fest, Antonioni
Well, my yearly dose of the arts fest has ended this year, caught 3 productions, my favourite being AMJAD by Lalala Human Steps. For me, the most impressive thing about AMJAD was the unity of its vision, the motifs of circles, rings, was so well conceived that it tied all aspects of the production design together, including the light, multimedia – even hints of it in how the choreography was structured.
It is mechanical, passionless almost, but definitely striking choreography and performances. Ash said it was like an acrobatic show, well, not really, but almost – you are constantly in awe at the speed and precision of their turns. Its so robotic that moments of tenderness stood out e.g. the male dancer caresses the female, catching her in a swift gesture – they are emotionless but you impose your own relief on them. Here is an excerpt on youtube, seeing is believing:
There’s much more to be said about AMJAD, but better move on to type about Antonioni before i run out of steam. National Museum has brought in an Antonioni Retrospective – very complete, almost all of his works are being screened except for his part in the Eros trilogy. It takes some dedication and discipline to catch all of them, which I don’t possess, but I did make it for 2 screenings last weekend. The screenings will be over the next 2 weekends, and the most exciting films are all centered around this upcoming week.
It is a rare opportunity to catch all his films on the big screen – of course some DVDs are available in the library but his films are made to be appreciated in darkness, with a community of people, and on a large scale. Its reasonably cheap – about 8 bucks a ticket, and cheaper if you buy 5 or more / buy student price. 
Attend and be blown away by his artistry.
you can buy tickets @ www.nationalmuseum.sg
