I’m not so sure there’s a single “bright side” to the recent pandemic. Some would argue that the cure was more devastating than the disease. But I do know that, as a species, we lost a little bit of our resiliency in the end. In his short film, Alexithymia, Brian Alan Hill finds inspiration from poet Charles Bukowski to reflect on the mental and emotional effects of isolation.
Caught in the midst of a never-ending lockdown, a man (Brian Alan Hill) prepares for yet another day alone with no purpose or direction. Dragging himself out of bed, the man drudges through his morning routine to then sit in front of a computer and do nothing.
“…the man drudges through his morning routine to then sit in front of a computer and do nothing.”
“Alexithymia” is defined as the inability to define or describe one’s emotions. In voiceover, the man speaks the words of Charles Bukowski about isolation. The idea is that we are merely bones covered in flesh, “they put a mind in there and sometimes a soul.” The poetic path we walk eventually leads to the final destination of a “deliberately wasted life.”
In Alexithymia, there’s no doubt that Brian Alan Hill had something to say about his/our experiences through lockdown… and shooting a short film was the only way to express these feelings. As a short film, this is both a one-man production (with a one-man budget) and a finely curated piece of art. He beautifully matches the tone of his visuals with the words and performance of Bukowski’s poetry.
What’s hard to deny about Alexithymia is that it captures our feelings and the long dark rabbit hole of despair we all fell in not so long ago.
"…a finely curated piece of art."
