The Coronating (2023), A Beautiful, Surreal, and Frightening Guilt Trip

It’s no small feat to make a short film look good. Most young filmmakers simply don’t have the budget or the expertise to make the mechanics of cinematography, lighting, and staging work together to create something really beautiful to look at. This is part of the reason I was so taken aback when I began watching Justin Solaiman and Hudson King’s surrealist fantasy short, The Coronating (2023). But once I got past the initial shock of such a visually-captivating short film, I could enjoy a 20-minute story that managed to pack a lot of big ideas into a small, digestible package. 

As a piece of surrealist cinema, The Coronating is far more concerned with making you feel something than telling a coherent story. Nonetheless, there is a plot that makes some sense, to one degree or another. Within the first minute, we are given cues through dialogue and intertitles that a ceremony (some kind of coronation) is about to begin. A knight sits in a quiet room with blue walls, decorated with random objects of interest; bowls of fruit, a burnt-out candle, paintings, ceremonial masks, and a chair in the very center. The knight rolls a smooth wooden ball around in her hand, seemingly preoccupied with the upcoming ceremony. 

Just before it starts, the knight is visited by a stranger. The stranger takes the form of a woman, perhaps a witch or a spirit, who seems to embody the knight’s own feelings of guilt, shame, and trepidation. I won’t go into too many details on how the story unfolds, but suffice it to say that the knight has concerns about the new king, and the stranger is hellbent on making her feel even worse about the coronation. When the stranger asks about her own relation to the knight, the knight quite aptly describes her as her own “misery.” 

As the knight contemplates what she should do — let the ceremony go on unhindered or take a stand — she sees the walls of the room quite literally closing in around her. Things only get more bizarre as the minutes tick down. In a particularly beautiful sequence, the stranger gazes out the window as light flashes by, her head disappearing for a few moments before reappearing once again. She taunts the knight, and to an extent the audience, with a series of vague accusations and gibes. But once we learn more about the stranger and her past, she emerges as a somewhat relatable foil to the knight, fraught with her own insecurities and regrets. 

The story continues to unfold in cryptic bits and morsels, leading up to the titular coronating of the king. The film is full of amazing images and exposition that just begs to be analyzed. There are plenty of Biblical allusions, particularly related to the theme of forbidden fruit and demonic forces tempting otherwise good people away from the path of righteousness. One could even interpret The Coronating as a fantastical account of the ascension of the Antichrist. 

Setting aside any Judeo-Christian references (both real and imagined on my part), the film plays around with a lot of interesting philosophical themes, including destiny, truth, subjectivity, and perception. Even if you’re not at all interested in the philosophical underpinnings of the narrative, the visuals are enough to keep even the least-attentive viewer on the edge of their seat. Some scenes are simply stunning. I was particularly impressed by a few fleeting moments: the knight looking out the window at a raging sea, the knight kneeling before a pool of disembodied hands, and, perhaps most of all, the coronating. 

There are elements of horror throughout, particularly in the final scene, which make The Coronating that much more entertaining and enjoyable to dissect. But more than anything else, I would be remiss to not celebrate the minds and talent behind this project. There are so many indie filmmakers out there, and only a small number are actually producing great works of art. Writer/Director Justin Solaiman, along with co-director Hudson King, has produced an original and fascinating short film, which is a great achievement in and of itself. To make it even better, Onyx Simpson and Mari Kasuya give excellent performances as the Knight and the Stranger, respectively. And a special shoutout needs to be given to the director of photography, Khoi Nguyen, and the production designer, Naomi Smith, who could give a Masterclass on visual composition in film. 

In closing, I’d just like to urge anyone with an interest in philosophy, indie filmmaking, philosophy, cinematography, or simply rising talent in the film industry to check out The Coronating (2023). The official screening is set for August 6th, 2023, between 7 and 9 PM at the Tara Theatre in Atlanta, GA. You can learn more by visiting The Distorting Mirror website or following the production team on Instagram.

The Coronating Movie Rating: ★★★★ out of 5

If you can’t make the screening in Atlanta, the film with be available to stream online later in the year. For more film reviews like this one, be sure to check out the Philosophy in Film homepage!