Monarda

Monarda

2010 · 11 min · ★ 5.0

Walter Ungerer’s Monarda (2010) has been screening across the country as part of the 2011 Black Maria Film Festival, a traveling program of new experimental cinema. Like much of Ungerer’s work, the 10-minute Monarda explores the mystifying qualities of nature. Beginning with a shot of grass, Ungerer quickly abstracts his images through digital manipulation until they are barely recognizable. Traces of natural forms (leaves, twigs) ground what is an otherwise indescribable procession of images. Though the visuals evade literal synopsizing, there’s a simplicity and concision to the film that allows the viewer to get caught up in their own experience rather than get sidetracked on decoding the filmmaker’s intentions. Monarda instills a feeling of both apprehension and wonder in the viewer. It’s a disquieting film, but one whose subtle craft and atmosphere becomes more impressive over multiple viewings.

Directed by Walter Ungerer

Your Rating

Make it a double feature

1h 23m together

Monarda

The Winter There Was Very Little Snow

Both from Walter Ungerer.

More from Walter UngererSee all →

The Winter There Was Very Little Snow

The Winter There Was Very Little Snow · 1982

The Winter There Was Very Little Snow

THE WINTER THERE WAS VERY LITTLE SNOW is a visual mood poem using the barest narrative form to convey the feeling and time of crisis for a man in middle age. His marriage has collapsed; he is without a job; and his father has just died. There is no reality, only an indistinguishable mixture of images and moments drawn from some space in time that could be his past, his present, or his future.

The Animal

The Animal · 1976

MovieHorrorDrama

A man meets a woman at a deserted railroad station somewhere in northern New England. It is the middle of winter; snow is falling. The two drive to a remote farmhouse. Two strange children, who never speak, appear at the window; an old woman calls them away.

The House Without Steps

The House Without Steps · 1979

The House Without Steps

A sensuous woman, an angry artist, a mysterious puppet maker, suspicious townspeople, mischievous kids; these are the characters in the film.

Ici

The film begins with abstract images of continuously changing in color, shape and texture. Slowly it reveals the source and real identity of the original subject-matter, and in so doing has transcended the abstract world for reality. Yet, they co-exist. Time lapse video clips form the basis of this work.

Kingsbury Beach

Kingsbury Beach · 1999

Kingsbury Beach

Digital stills and video footage of a child on a beach in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, are manipulated and obscured to create a nostalgic atmosphere of remembrances. The Amiga computer has now been replaced by the Macintosh. The editing program is the Media 100.

Blue Parrot

Blue Parrot · 2009

Abstract contemporary sculptures at a museum, male and female mannequins at a downtown mall, the Venice Beach and Santa Monica Promenades with their various attractions of hawkers, exhibitionists and vendors; these are all the subjects of this film. Added to the collection are a ride on a carousel composed of beautifully restored antique horses, a tram ride to the heights of the Getty Museum, an inner city LA bus ride, and the journey to the Boston airport from Maine. This material is blended together by layering, multiplying and repeating sequences to produce a array of colors, shapes, objects and sounds. that reflect the effects of a brief visit to Los Angeles.

Green Eye

Green Eye · 2013

How the universe evolved, and how humans developed are questions that arise with our awareness of life on the planet. There seems always to be much conjecture about it, but no clear answers. Mystery and wonder are pervasive. This film stems from my thoughts about it. As the images I created evolved into continuous sequences, it pursued a direction hitherto unknown by me until it was a film, and finished.

The Awakening

The Awakening · 2002

The film parallels the short treatise The Awakening of Faith by Asvaghosha which provides a comprehensive summary of the essentials of Mahayana Buddhism. That treatise discusses the question of how man can transcend his finite state and participate in the life of the infinite while still remaining in the midst of the phenomenal order.

noCOM

The film title is an abbreviation for no comment. With all due respects I find this to be an appropriate description of this film, which is based on abstract drawings, obscure images, and distorted sounds.

Epitaph

Epitaph · 2008

Meditations on human destruction composed at land's end.

The Window

The Window · 1997

One of a collection of experimental shorts shot on VHS, miniDV or created in the computer, where the results were edited and manipulated by filmmaker Walter Ungerer with various computer software programs.

Clouds

The film explores the different shapes and colors of clouds. It probes the space clouds occupy. Through the use of haunting ethereal sounds and ghostlike imagery, the experience of seeing the heavens is interpreted.

6 X 6

MovieDocumentary

The film is an improvised story about a young man who meets a young woman in a public place. He attempts to establish a friendship. This situation is played out three times, each time with different characters and different actors in different locations. What occurs unfolds differently with each story. In each situation the actors don't know each other. They respond spontaneously as they create the dialogue and the narrative.

Random Bits of Unknown Significance

Random Bits of Unknown Significance · 2008

Random Bits of Unknown Significance

MovieDocumentary

Filmmaker Walter Ungerer shot RANDOM BITS OF UNKNOWN SIGNIFICANCE with an inexpensive digital still camera capable of shooting short video bursts. The inobtrusiveness of the camera afforded Ungerer the opportunity to record unguarded moments in people's lives while he was on a trip to England, Germany, and Switzerland in 2006.

City of the Angels

City of the Angels · 2013

City of the Angels

Los Angeles is called “City of the Angels”. On this visit in December 2012 what I recorded became the substance of this film. It is an exploration of inanimate objects: toys, dolls, and figurines, and locations with people: LA auto show, city streets, Getty Museum, a memorabilia shop, and the LA observatory. These were interwoven in such a way as to suggest a correlation between the animate and inanimate, the real and the unreal.

Introduction to Oobieland

Introduction to Oobieland · 1969

Introduction to Oobieland

Using hand-painted film, animation and an inventive soundtrack, INTRODUCTION TO OOBIELAND is an exploration of gateways: a repeated series of movements from the familiar and safe to the unknown and dangerous. Cycles are left incomplete. Chases are never consummated; the day ends with no promise of rebirth. In this way the film touches on our oldest instincts, leaving us saddened and scared by the knowledge of a world that will never know freedom through the completion of action; safety through the sanctification of place.

More Like This

Couldn't load this row right now.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter