Directed by Chinese-born and Vancouver-based filmmaker Qiuli Wu, “Sunken Cave and a Migrating Bird” was previously screened at Vancouver International Film Festival.
Switching through scenes of intense darkness to ones of full light, the experimental short focuses on two siblings that are roaming around a dilapidated zoo. The boy talks about the reasons birds migrate, with the sister analyzing the concept a bit more. The lightless part of the zoo brings some fun for the kids, with the boy trying to scare his sister by yelling, probably inspired by the story of the “crazy lady” she has just narrated. Eventually, the two decide to steal a fish, as the borders between past and present become thinner, while paintings on the wall, the eyes of a fish, and an old lady are added to the already peculiar imagery of the film.
Sunken Cave and a Migrating Bird screened at The Future of Film Showcase
The atmosphere Qiuli Wu creates is imposing, through a sense of disorientation and mystery, which is created by both the soundscape and the various vignettes that comprise the narrative.
At the same time, however, this atmosphere does not seem to lead anywhere, with the comments Wu wanted to present being rather difficult to realize.The alteration between the well-lit and the dark scenes also adds to the ambience, but the fact that the dark ones are very badly lit, to the point that you barely realize what you are watching, makes them annoying, with their purpose, once more, being rather vague.
It seems that Qiuli Wu wanted to create a short that would be experienced through the senses rather than understood through logic. I feel, though, that she lost her sense of measure at some point, resulting in a movie that looks more like a collage of disconnected thoughts than an actual narrative. The occasional technical prowess of the movie, particularly regarding some of the stills that appear throughout somewhat compensates, but not to a point to salvage “Sunken Cave and a Migrating Bird” as a whole.
