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Reflect (2023), A Mind-Bending Metaphysical Journey Into the Unknown

Reflect (2023)

&NewLine;<p>As a film critic&comma; there’s nothing more satisfying than discovering a director with a truly distinctive and entertaining style&period; With so many films I come across&comma; I feel as though I’m watching something I’ve seen before&comma; simply pushed through a grinder to give it a unique texture&period; It may look a little different&comma; but it’s all the same ingredients that were there before&comma; just repackaged to appear as something new&period; Dana Kippel’s <em>Reflect<&sol;em> &lpar;2023&rpar; never gave me that feeling&period; On the contrary&comma; watching <em>Reflect<&sol;em> offers an engaging narrative and an exceptional &lpar;and trippy&rpar; visual experience&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><em>Reflect<&sol;em> tells the story of Summer &lpar;played by writer&sol;director Dana Kippel&rpar;&comma; a woman who feels trapped in a relationship with James &lpar;Corey Brooks&rpar;&comma; a guy who doesn’t show much interest in her&comma; and doesn’t seem all that interesting as a person&period; You can tell from the outset that Summer feels disconnected from herself&comma; her boyfriend&comma; and virtually everything around her&comma; to the point that she sets her friends up on a spiritual getaway in Sedona&comma; Arizona&period; In theory&comma; each participant will be awarded with a chunk of cash just for making it through the experience&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Summer sets out with four friends&comma; but there is discord in the group from the start&period; Nia &lpar;Ariana Brown&rpar; won’t answer calls from her mother&comma; while sisters Katie &lpar;Grace Patterson&rpar; and Annie &lpar;Marissa Patterson&rpar; can’t seem to talk to each other without tearing themselves down&period; Summer is unenthusiastic that Liz &lpar;Jadelyn Breier&rpar; came on the trip at all&comma; believing that Liz wants to steal James from her&period; As the journey continues&comma; the group encounters a variety of bizarre and confusing characters who lead them through the spiritual retreat&comma; where they are faced with their own demons and the internal traumas that they’re too afraid to face in their daily lives&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Though <em>Reflect <&sol;em>has a style all its own&comma; I did detect — or at least interpret — influences from other great films and filmmakers&period; The cinematography and undertones of disconnection&comma; depression&comma; and <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;2019&sol;12&sol;08&sol;10-metaphysical-films-for-philosophy-students&sol;">metaphysical wonder<&sol;a> felt reminiscent of Lars von Trier’s <em>Melancholia<&sol;em> &lpar;2011&rpar;&comma; while some of the camera work and unhinged characters were delightfully Lynchian in style&period; But Dana Kippel’s <em>Reflect <&sol;em>addresses its themes more directly&comma; through both psychedelic visuals and surreal interactions&period; We&comma; as viewers&comma; get to see the trauma firsthand&comma; even if it is presented in a way that doesn’t appeal to the sensibilities and expectations of mainstream cinema&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<figure class&equals;"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2024&sol;01&sol;summermirror-1024x426&period;png" alt&equals;"Reflect metaphysical movie" class&equals;"wp-image-2817"&sol;><figcaption class&equals;"wp-element-caption"><em>Reflect<&sol;em> &lpar;2023&rpar;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>From a filmmaking perspective&comma; <em>Reflect<&sol;em> stands out as one of the few indie films in recent memory to successfully film on location without sacrificing the quality of its visuals&period; In fact&comma; the film seamlessly blends images of interstellar clouds and mysterious vortexes with the natural beauty of the Arizona desert&period; There are a few moments when the film’s low budget creeps through&comma; particularly when it involves the embedded narrative of &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;The Game of Life” TV show&comma; but these moments are far outshined by the fantastic cinematography&comma; excellent performances &lpar;especially from the five central actors&rpar;&comma; and philosophical themes that ask the big questions without a lot of unnecessary exposition&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Many filmmakers have tried and failed to make a quality metaphysical film&comma; as it&&num;8217&semi;s such an abstract concept to transcribe to the cinematic medium&period; This is why it was pleasantly surprising to see a young filmmaker &lpar;in her feature debut&comma; no less&rpar; create a story that lends itself so well to such a difficult and complex genre&period; Summer is disconnected from the world around her&comma; and every aspect of the film is dedicated to the questions humans ask themselves in moments of existential dread&period; Are we distinct from the universe around us&quest; Does our world&comma; as we know it&comma; really exist&quest; How does our consciousness take form in the natural world&comma; and how are the two connected&quest;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Like any genuine metaphysical film&comma; these questions are not answered with any sense of certainty&period; I won’t give away the ending&comma; but it does hint at a theory&comma; however far-fetched&comma; about what could be true about our existence&comma; or at least the existence of the characters in the film&period; Depending on your temperament&comma; you may walk away from <em>Reflect<&sol;em> with a greater sense of purpose and connection to the people and things around you&comma; or you may feel even more confused and lost than before&period; I personally felt a sense of optimism as the credits rolled&comma; and as a certifiable cynic&comma; this was no small feat&period; For this reason alone&comma; I can honestly say that Dana Kippel shows great talent as a philosophical filmmaker&comma; and I&&num;8217&semi;m excited to see more from her in the future&period; In closing&comma; if you want to enjoy a legitimate metaphysical film that is simultaneously frightening and hopeful&comma; Dana Kippel’s <em>Reflect <&sol;em>is certainly a diamond in the rough&period; <&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<h3 class&equals;"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size">Reflect &lpar;2023&rpar; Movie Rating&colon; &starf;&starf;&starf;&starf; out of 5<&sol;h3>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>If you’d like to watch <em>Reflect<&sol;em> &lpar;2023&rpar;&comma; the film premieres on January 9th&comma; 2023&comma; and you can stream&comma; rent&comma; or purchase it after the premiere at <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;reflectmovie&period;com&sol;">ReflectMovie&period;com<&sol;a>&period; If you want to learn more about Dana Kippel’s future projects&comma; be sure to check out <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;crazycarrotfilms&period;com">Crazy Carrot Films<&sol;a>&period; For more film reviews like this one&comma; be sure to check out the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;philosophyinfilm&period;com&sol;">Philosophy in Film homepage<&sol;a>&excl;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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