MIFF NOTES: Ma (2015, Dir. Celia Rowlson-Hall)

It feels reductive to call Celia Rowlson-Hall's exploration-through-movement piece, Ma, a narrative feature, even though at its heart it is. That's not to say it is a transparent narrative but it is more narrative than purely mood or impression or interpretation. There is a progression to the piece, which approaches an identifiable arc, though it is undoubtably an enigmatic one and will surely differ from audience to audience.

Similarly, it would be incorrect to say that Ma exists beyond language. It doesn't, it is just that its language comes in a form that isn't spoken. It is felt. It aches out of muscles. It shudders its message.

And while it may not be entirely comprehensible, Rowlson-Hall, who barely leaves the screen from the moment she walks out of the desert in little more than a pair of cowboy boots and a towel draped Holy Virgin like over her oversized pink t-shirt, moves with precision. Physically and emotionally. It is a mesmerising, film-anchoring performance.

Perplexing, surreal, disarming. Ma is a singular experience. Perhaps a little too opaque in sections but it overwrites them often with startling imagery (and more beautifully-executed kinetic enigma).

★★★

Trailer:

Ma screened as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival 2016.

You can check out other films from the festival here.