Josef Gatti has a handful of shorts and television shows to his name. His feature-length debut is a documentary titled Phenomena. He also produced, co-wrote, co-edited, and served as the director of photography on the project. What made Gatti pour himself into every fiber of the movie? Is the end result worth all of his blood, sweat, and tears?
The plot is remarkably simple: Gatti, his physics-teacher father, and his friend Joe (a musician) conduct experiments. Said experiments use water, bubbles, salt, and the like to highlight motion, energy, and the way those two things intertwine everything around everyone at all times. Gatti films the experiments in close-up so audience members can observe the reactions. And that is it.
It would be futile to describe the experiments in detail, as Phenomena, co-written by Joseph Nizeti, needs to be experienced, not merely watched. Find a theater playing it, or rent one out, and let the massive images of swirling colors, bouncing water droplets, crystallizing salt, and jumping sound waves wash over all who are watching. The immersiveness is still present on a laptop screen, which is a huge credit to the direction and editing. But to get lost in the imagery with Rival Consoles and Nils Frahm’s epic music playing in surround sound is a cinematic treat not to be missed.
“…experiments use water, bubbles, salt, and the like to highlight motion, energy, and the way those two things intertwine everything around everyone at all times.”
Back to the cinematography, though. Gatti shoots the experiments as they are being conducted, so there is no question of fakery of any kind, CGI or otherwise. This gives each frame a tactile quality that is hard to describe, but will make total sense after watching the motion picture. But rest assured, it is all gorgeous, mesmerizing, and hypnotic. This is the best-looking documentary since the Qatsi trilogy.
But why is Gatti and his family and friends conducting such experiments? Well, the idea is to observe and understand natural phenomena and thus, understand the universe as a whole. Gatt’s narration ensures that how each experiment relates to that driving idea is perfectly clear at the outset or while observing the reaction.
Phenomena is beyond a mere documentary. It is more than just a film. It is an expansive, gorgeous creed on matter, energy, life, and the universe. Audience members need to see it on the biggest screen possible with the clearest sound possible to fully appreciate everything Gatti has accomplished.
"…the best-looking documentary since the Qatsi trilogy."
