KAFFNY ’11: psychohydrography

Peter Bo Rappmund’s 2010 experimental documentary psychohydrography is a sensory journey along the LA River from the mountains to the sea. It was shot on location at the Eastern Sierra Nevadas, Owens Valley, the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the Los Angeles river and the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Korean American Film Festival New York’s Opening Night program on March 17th at 10:45 pm. Tickets for the Opening Night can be bought here and more information about the event can be found here. My thoughts after the break.

Shot entirely by Peter Bo Rappmund on a single DSLR the film is made up of a series of time-lapsed high dynamic range (HDR) photographs that were taken at 6 times the resolution of 1080p. According to the press materials it is the first motion picture to use time-lapse and HDR together. Conceptually this is showing that even at low budget someone can make something in the same veins as Baraka or Koyaanisqatsi.

This is not a traditional narrative, nor is a traditional documentary, but for those who are brave enough or curious enough to experience something different will find psychohydrography a meditative experience on something that we never really think about in our day to day lives. The visuals are absolutely stunning, but what stands out the most is the sound design of the film. I was transfixed as I watched and it barely seemed that the hour had passed by, so lost was I in the sounds and visuals that Rappmund had crafted.

And this is a craft. Rappmund has mapped an entirely new cartography with his film that manipulates us with temporal shifts and hypnotizes us with his studied minimalism. The water cycle, something we all know through rote memorization from grade school science classes, envelopes us with beauty and stillness that really forces us to contemplate the journey that water makes. There is also a jarring difference from his beginnings in the mountains, marked by a brief black screen, to scenes from LA at night. The time-lapse nature of his stills gives a ghost like quality to LA that maps a phantom city to the one we are used to seeing on the screen. I admit trepidation before viewing, as I am not overly fond of experimental films and wary unless they are done right, but Rappmund is a student of Brakhage, and although his film stands on its own, it is one of those rare journeys that anyone with a passion for film should take.

The film is playing opening night 3/17 as well as Friday 3/18, 6-9PM at White Box (free) w/ Q&A as its gallery world premiere, as well as the Big Screen Project also free at the same time.