If you've been in The Independent Critic universe for any length of time, you've likely encountered more than a few reviews sharing bits and pieces of my traumatic background. It's a background I've worked hard to learn how to manage, and it's a background that for many years sent me into the darkest pits of indie cinema where all things experimental and indie horror could be found.
I thought of those experiences often while watching Richard Lukacs's eight-minute experimental short film Sound of the Doldrums. Weaving together a tapestry of sharp and dark storytelling, animation, and hardcore music video, Lukacs presents the story, loosely defined, of a musician who has caused a fatal accident taking the life of his partner. Along the way, he loses his hearing except for the sound he hates the most.
Sound of the Soldrums is, unsurprisingly, experimental to the max yet ever more impactful because of it.
Made out of 862 animated still photos along with a harsh, immersive soundtrack, Sound of the Doldrums feels intentionally chaotic, relentless, and isolating immersing us in the depression of this musician and the darkness in which he now lives.
As the film amps up, so does the volume and so do our emotions. We feel this guy's darkness. Luckily, we get to escape it. It feels like it's going to be perpetual for him, though perhaps much like me this extraordinary expression can provide some sort of salvation.
There are an awful lot of filmmakers who like to call their films "experimental," but Sound of the Doldrums lives into that declaration with an experience one won't easily forget. If you get a chance, see it on a big screen and at max volume.
