One time, when I was younger and wilder, I got really drunk at a friend’s place and tried to navigate my way down a tricky flight of ice-covered stairs using my drunk-O-vision. It didn’t work and I more or less went down like a flannel wearing – this was 1994 mind you – sack of potatoes.
I say “more or less” because I don’t really remember it all that well. Mostly because I was so drunk, but also because it was a really long flight of stairs and I must have hit my head a lot. All I do remember is going down and down and down and down… arms and legs flailing, mumbling incoherently at the top of my lungs.
Because I was so drunk, and because I kept grabbing and losing hold of stuff on the way down, I’d say it took me about seven and half minutes to finish falling and wind up at the bottom. Coincidentally, this was the same length as this short I’ve just watched called Between Regularity and Irregularity. Also, coincidentally, this short pretty much feels the same as that long ago tumble. The entire running time consists of a cacophony of sound, sharp flashes of images too quick for your eye to see, soft lulls, softer sounds, that sort of thing. I’d say it was like a bad acid trip, but that wouldn’t be fair to director Masahiro Tsutani, who did not just toss stuff at the screen for the sake of weirdness but put some effort into it.
I’m no snob when it comes to art stuff. I totally get it. Films shouldn’t just be stories. They should be experiences, and Between Regularity and Irregularity attempts to create an experience without a story. Whether it’ll be successful with everyone isn’t really possible for me to tell. All I can say is that it worked on me. It made me remember something amusing that happened a long time ago. Your experience will vary. Mine was funny, sort of, but maybe yours will be scary or sad or exciting or sexual. Who knows? Maybe you won’t feel anything at all. This is just one of those things you have to see for yourselves.
