Strasbourg 1518
a24
As the coronavirus pandemic keeps raging on throughout the entire world, most creatives have been stifled due to the lockdown restrictions. However, recently, some have been tackling new, unconventional ways to produce content in these difficult times, producing mixed efforts such as Netflix’s Homemade. Now, British filmmaker Jonathan Glazer has partnered with A24, BBC and a diverse group of dancers from all over the world to bring forth a new short film based on a centuries old event that is eerily similar to the current situation – the 1518 Dancing Plague of Strasbourg. However, this begs the question: is Glazer’s signature style able to transcend the massive limitations of today's world?
Despite the incredibly topical and compelling story of the real-live events of the dancing plague, the film unfortunately shies away from any hints that point to what is truly going on and relegates the story to the synopsis of the film. While Glazer has experimented with having little to no plot in many of his recent films, he has still ensured that his films ask important questions that bring a semblance of meaning to the plot. In Under the Skin, a defined character arc is present throughout the whole story, as the protagonist asks herself what it means to be human; even the stripped-down short film The Fall shows the effects of how a mob mentality can impact and dominate society. However, in Strasbourg 1518, he pushes those experiments to the extreme, reducing the plot merely to the crazed performances of unwell dancers and relies completely on the hope that the technical aspects of the film will carry it through the end.
Yet, despite the incredible risk of the gamble Glazer took, it indeed does pay off. Apart from the striking phone-shot images from cinematographer Darius Khondji, both the editing and the score – from frequent collaborator Mica Levi – elevate the film, as they are able to provide a sense of coordination and create a coherent narrative out of a non-existent story. However, none of these aspects could have heightened the film as much as Glazer’s own direction. Once again, he proves to be an atmospheric powerhouse who would be able to make even paint drying a captivating and shocking tour-de-force. Under his control, he has every single aspect of the film come together in exactly the right manner, ensuring that like much of his other recent work, Strasbourg 1518 delivers one of the most unhinged cinematic experiences of the year so far.