Demi-Gods
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Directed by Martin Gerigk | Reviewed by Rich Monetti Demi-Gods
Gives us A lot of Guesswork to Do and That’s a Good Thing A Demi-God is either the offspring of a god or a mortal raised to the likes of the divine. In other words, a haughty dude who hasn’t earned his or her keep. So Martin Gerigk is using his platform as an experimental filmmaker to call out society's dark worship of these human demons. The five-minute ride will definitely be cryptic, though. But you will still be better for the attempt to understand Gerigk's Demi-Gods and so will we all. War, narcissism and ecological destruction are on the agenda and the filmmaker gets right down to business. A dark screen gives way to the title, and the Machinist of Destruction is on the docket to get its specific dress down. On alert, an eerie instrumental can be heard as though it’s about to grind humanity and nature to a halt like the operation of a WWI munitions factory. Thus, we are hit with the appropriate visuals. In grainy black and white, we land on a labyrinth of rails that seems to be meant to facilitate the movement of large artillery during the Great War. Then Gerigk goes with his bread and butter. “One important aspect of his art is the illustration of the hidden poetry of nature phenomena and sciences,” says the director’s biography on Film Freeway. A mechanical device arrives in animation and goes full hybrid. The life form draws breath through the well-developed torso of a man, has frogs for feet and defers his human thinking on the heels of a thriving daffodil head. The contraption moves methodically on its metallic hips and the biological components follow suit as they signal the sound effects of their own survival. Throw in the war sirens wailing, some serious mathematical formulas, which allude to the technological requirements for war and the wheels are set in motion for interpretation. But before we can fully digest, the screen fades to black and more cryptic imagery gives us no time for consideration. La Sensualité du Narcissisme rises to its Demi-God state, and the mathematical precision turns us up again. Geometric figures and the rotating schematics of old school machinery lays the groundwork for the self-satisfaction portrayed here. The rotating auditory to go with it, our Adonis is now perched in the grind, and seems to reluctantly share the spotlight with the natural components of Gerigk’s mind. A few female groans to maybe lighten his load, the uncomfortable cohabitation is forced to an end, and we must put off making sense because Genetic Hubris now has our attention. This time we get an Eden-istic tone, and with a pleasing Eve occupying the explosion of flora, nature seems to have the upper hand. That is until Adam rises to the level of Demi-God, and in his technological hubris, we are cast out again in the darkness. On the other hand, the absence of light in its final form finally allows us time to be pensive. So, among mechanical gyration and natural exploitation that the Gerigk expertly conveys, what does it all mean? Well, that’s anyone’s guess. But the more you watch, the more you’ll guess and glean and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Cs of old school machinery lays the groundwork for the self-satisfaction portrayed here. The rotating auditory to go with it, our Adonis is now perched in the grind, and seems to reluctantly share the spotlight with the natural components of Gerigk’s mind. A few female groans to maybe lighten his load, the uncomfortable cohabitation is forced to an end, and we must put off making sense because Genetic Hubris now has our attention. This time we get an Eden-istic tone, and with a pleasing Eve occupying the explosion of flora, nature seems to have the upper hand. That is until Adam rises to the level of Demi-God, and in his technological hubris, we are cast out again in the darkness. On the other hand, the absence of light in its final form finally allows us time to be pensive. So, among mechanical gyration and natural exploitation that the Gerigk expertly conveys, what does it all mean? Well, that’s anyone’s guess. But the more you watch, the more you’ll guess and glean and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Rich Monetti was born in the Bronx and grew up in Somers, New York. He went onto study Computer Science and Math at Plattsburgh State. But after about a decade in the field, he discovered that writing was his real passion. He's been a freelancer since 2003 and is always looking for the next story. Rich also dabbles with screenwriting and stays active by playing softball and volleyball.
