The soulful eyes of donkeys become reflections of the universe in perfectly a strangeness.
The experimental documentary short, by Canadian filmmaker Alison McAlpine uses the animals’ trademark humility and simplicity to great effect as a trio of somewhat bemused burros happen across an observatory in the middle of Atacama Desert in Chile. A film in two parts, by day the donkeys (Palomo, Ruperto, and Palaye) somewhat belligerently wander around the stargazing complex, and then by night an incredible light show seems to present to the intricacies of existence.
Despite its lean runtime and its lack of dialogue, McAlpine’s film is a heady blend of myth, science fiction, documentary, comedy and philosophical exploration. The filmmaker has described part of the inspiration for the film being the stories of the Ring of Brogar in the Orkney and how the standing stones were said to come alive at night. It makes for a wonderful lens to view perfectly a strangeness, as the donkeys – unaware of what the observatory is – stand confounded before being shown its true grandeur. The nighttime sequence is stunning, but its profundity is largely due to the watchful, weather eyes being cast upon the night sky.
There is something magical about these beasts of burden afforded the opportunity to bask in the exaltation of the universe showing off for them and the marvels of human ingenuity that elucidate the heavens. There is something more majestic, though, in the indifference of asses. In the moment that the donkeys first encounter the observatory, the image cuts to a close up of their ears, flicking in different directions, like dishes searching for a signal. What they truly make of it all, though, remains tantalisingly out of reach.
Director, screenplay, producer: Alison McAlpine
Cast: Palomo, Ruperto, Palaye
Cinematography: Nicolas Canniccioni
Editing: Carolina Siraqyan
Sound: Sauel Gagnon-Thibodeau Music: Ben Grossman Production companies: Second Sight Pictures (Canada)
Venue: Oldenburg Film Festival (Shorts)
No dialogue 15 minutes
