Alabaster | Directed by Dan Ramm
CAT INDEX
CAT INDEX OVERVIEW
SCREENPLAY
MAKING
ACTING
Directed by Dan Ramm/ Reviewed by Biplab Das
Alabaster - a man’s triumph against mental illness is an adaptation of Will Reyes poem ‘Lost In Life’s Ocean’. The film portrayed to highlight mental health awareness and decimate the associated stigmas with it. The film doesn’t have a plot; it’s the narration of Will Reyes's poem accompanied by background music. The genre of music is RAP. The film starts with acknowledging those who are downtrodden and forgotten; lost and afraid. It has no story. A large chunk of the poem is told by a man who poignantly describing his state of loneliness and dejection; his continuous struggle to cope up with the society. Their images depict the disillusionment and detachment of the people. Few images have a direct relation to reality; some are poetic; few surreal. The camera plays an important role in presenting the mood and memories.
The film also talks about the psychological crisis of the present generation. A considerable portion of the film is primarily the debauch journey of the man. There are real-time images, animation, and graphics accompanied by poetry. Close up and mid-close up shots of people on screen are a metaphor for the over-exposed saddened life of a person who is suffering from mental illness. There are images of people who are smiling, kissing, or crying. The journey of the portraying illness to survival is a plateau shape. It starts by addressing the problem, then reaches the highest point, and then starts to fall. The remedy to that illness also explained through poetry. The narrator, in this case, is a woman who is bringing hope to the man’s life. The lady narrator brings hope in the man’s life through uttering beautiful words. Those words bring a breath of fresh air into the man’s life. Those words act as a therapy for the man. 
The approach of the film is simplistic, but the subject it deals with is complex. The film ends with a happy note. This 9-minute long film offers a path to everyone that time is the most precious aspect that heals our pain and delusion. In the end, both narrators echo the same thing not to give up.
