If space is still the final frontier, it’s becoming more difficult to comprehend who or what that frontier is for. With the announcement of America’s Space Force, the privatization of the space industry, and the growing tensions between nuclear armed (or potentially armed) countries one starts to question it. Are we sending our best and brightest to do research and expand humanity’s perception of what’s beyond? Or is it a militaristic and capitalist bid for leverage over the rest of the world? This week’s Staff Pick Premiere “Black” by animator Tomasz Popakul, explores these tensions on an orbital space station through the eyes of two stranded Japanese astronauts.
Trapped high above Earth, the astronauts watch in detached horror as mushroom clouds blossom across the surface of the planet. Their mission is unclear, but the pair is tasked with documenting nuclear destruction. However, at a certain point, the damage on Earth is too great for them to process emotionally. With radio communication lost and power outages growing larger, darkness engulfs the world. That darkness doesn’t end there, but also overtakes the astronauts. Isolation, confinement, and despair trigger hallucinations and a state of madness for one of the astronauts. In this, the story within the space station and its salvation mirrors that of Earth: to save ourselves, we must embrace each other or risk drifting into the void and becoming unrecognizable.
“Black,” the title of the film, serves as a direct reference to many of the ideas Popakul explores. The color black is characterized by the absence of, or complete absorption of light. It is generally associated with fear and the unknown. It is the color of death and mourning. Not only is the color meant to evoke the psychology of the film, but the aesthetic as well. Born and educated in Poland, Popakul’s style holds many of the eastern European traits including design, story pace, and emotional core (as evidenced in his previous Staff Picked short Zeigenort). However, in 2014 he was one of three selected for the prestigious Animation Artist in Residence Tokyo residency program by Japan Image Council (JAPIC). Here he developed his story and style under the mentorship of Japanese animation legends: Taku Furukawa, Sonoko Kifune, and Tatsutoshi Nomura. Popakul readily admits that Japan and the residency changed his film in unexpected ways from its black and white manga aesthetic, to the motif of origami cranes for peace, and causing him to reverse gender roles in the script between his two main characters.
Popakul’s visual style is definitely the stand out of the film – a perfect distillation of his Polish roots and Japanese influence. However, because he animates his films completely by himself they retain his own unique signature. He blends 2D manga-like designs into a 3D world and his characters move through the frame in a uniquely buoyant way giving the illusion of depth and space. Similar to Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity, the camera is not anchored to any specific plane and is free to float around the passengers and ship. Because of this, the film achieves a disorienting and almost unhinged effect giving the audience a similar impression of being in space. The contrast of the swirling space station and the claustrophobic conditions onboard create an incredible sense of solitude. One starts to question if Popakul revels in the solitude of his process as much as he does his storytelling, which has focused on madness and isolation. With “Black” though, it seems as if he’s grappling with the outside world, asking, Is anybody there?Check out more of Vimeo’s Staff Pick Premieres here.
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