In a Tamasic World
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In a Tamasic World | Reviewed by Snigdha Sen
A dreamlike symbolic journey into the modern world. Anima – the human soul – is threatened by dark forces, who besiege her as hooded strangers. Hyperion – the mad sage, and Clotho – the Moira seamstress of fate who spins the thread of human life, measure up against infinity and fate. Maya – queen of fire and illusion, evokes the life forces needed to sustain Anima in the confrontation that awaits her. On the chessboard of good and evil, where the struggle is being fought with tamasic forces, Anima appears to capitulate – but the immortal current of life will prove stronger than everything else.
Film actress and screenwriter, Camilla Martini, this is her first time behind the camera.
She wrote the script for animated video clips ("Arabian Nights", "Droplet of Stars" and "The Child and the White Whale") which received numerous film awards, including Oniros Film Awards (New York), Global Music Awards (La Jolla, California), Gulf of Naples Independent Film Festival (Naples, Italy), Magikal Charm Experimental Video & Film Fest (New York), California Music Video Awards (San Francisco).
The music video "In a Tamasic World" is an allegorical reading of our times and the future gathering on the horizon. It is a dark dream brightened by a hopeful finale. The lowly forces, known as "tamasic" in Indian philosophy, are generators of wars, narcissism, chaos, savagery, and the absence of a loving vision. They come close to prevailing upon the soul's more luminous forces; but the soul cannot be undone, and its death is merely an illusion.
The setting, film characters, and atmosphere unspool in an oneiric dimension: we move into a dreamscape where bizarre entities serve as archetypes and symbols. The tamasic forces of ignorance, greed, wrath, and sloth are embodied in four hooded figures, whose faces are perpetually hidden behind animal masks. Hyperion and Clotho are themselves archetypes: Hyperion is the mad sage cursed with second sight, the wizard, the alchemist who peers into the infinite and knows the secrets of rebirth; Clotho symbolises time, the beginning, and the end. She is the weaver and cutter of the threads of human lives, whose memories she carries with her as photos sewn onto her dress. Maya embodies the element of fire. She represents directed energy and intention, but also an illusion and the blinding power of covetousness. The counterpoint to Maya is the Fire-Eater, the incarnation of the ambivalent nature of passion, and the keeper of the spark of life. Finally, the Tibetan monk invites us to descend into the deep, to the realm of the spirit and serenity. All the action takes place at night, in a grotesque style and bucolic setting reminiscent of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
My message to the film director would be, to be more precise and use the theme elaborately so that whosoever is not acquainted with the Shakespeare themes can be more clear with the comprehension of the video. Apart from that the video stands to be an all rounder. Looking forward to more such creations from the team.
If you're into literature and music, this masterpiece stands to be the best soothe to your interests.
Snigdha Sen is 24 years old, postgraduate in the field of Languages and Linguistics. She is based out of Kolkata, India. She is well versed in English, Bengali, Hindi, German and French languages. She is an educator of English Language and also a content writer and editor. Her love for reading beats everything else.
