Declare Independence

Song: Declare Independence
Singer: Björk
Writer & Producer: Björk & Mark Bell
Director: Michel Gondry


1st Impression: Noisy and mad. Crazy Björk...
2nd Impression: Still noisy and mad
3rd Impression: Noisy but admittedly less irritating than expected
4th Impression: Shit. It's a bit catchy...
5th Impression: Nooooo!!! *Self denial*
.
.
.
.
.
.
10th Impression: DECLARE INDEPENDENCE! DON'T LET THEM DO THAT TO YOU! WOO HOO!!!

Lyrics
Declare independence!
Don't let them do that to you!
Declare independence!
Don't let them do that to you!

Declare independence!
Don't let them do that to you!
Declare independence!
Don't let them do that to you!
Justice

Start your own currency!
Make your own stamp
Protect your language

Declare independence
Don't let them do that to you
Declare independence
Don't let them do that to you

[x4] Make your own flag!

[x6] Raise your flag! (Higher, higher!)

Declare independence!
Don't let them do that to you!

Declare independence!
Don't let them do that to you!

Damn colonists
Ignore their patronizing
Tear off their blindfolds
Open their eyes

Declare independence!
Don't let them do that to you!
Declare independence!
Don't let them do that to you!

With a flag and a trumpet
Go to the top of your highest mountain!

And raise your flag! (Higher, higher!)
[x5] Raise your flag! (Higher, higher!)

Declare independence!
Don't let them do that to you!
Declare independence!
Don't let them do that to you!

Raise the flag!

The Weird and Wonderful

I confess, I always had a soft spot for movies which fulfill any of the three criteria:
1. Avant-garde
2. Independent, or more specifically, non Hollywood (eg. The Machinist)
3. Arty farty (eg. Birth, Dancer in the Dark)
4. Local (eg. Roystan Tan's 4:30, Eric Khoo's Be With Me)
5. Foreign (eg. L'Enfant, Cidade de Deus, Возвращение)

Still, I found the films that I've caught so far, too normal to be even considered avant-garde. Of course, some of them were admittedly boring and it made me more than happy when the film ended

However, two weeks ago, I was finally understood what an avant-garde film was...

Matthew Barney's Drawing Restraint 9,

starring himself and Björk as occidental guest

As a fickle fan of Björk, I was wildly ecstatic when I read on Straits Times that the National Museum of Singapore was going to hold a South-East Asian Premiere of Drawing Restraint 9. The description of the brochure read:

Leave your inhibitions and logic at the door, and enter the sensuous, striking and disturbing world of Matthew Barney...

His latest filmic work, Drawing Restraint 9 (2005), unfolds in a dream-like Asian setting. It features the creative input of his partner Björk, both in the mesmerizing score as well as playing a bride who travels to a Japanese whaling ship, the Nisshin Maru, for a bizarre wedding ceremony with an unnamed man played by Barney. The ending scenes alone will leave your eyes glued to the screen. Difficult to describe, his films never fail to provoke a reaction from the audience.

The National Museum Cinémathèque’s Alternative Visions series presents cutting edge work that pushes the boundaries of film and the moving image.

Of course, normally, alarm bells would have sounded for most people when the description tell you to "leave your logic at the door", but I ignored all the blatant warnings and roped an innocent fan with me in to watch.

And this was how Drawing Restraint 9 went for me...

The first 10 to 15 minutes were pretty normal.
Picturesque shores and people dancing... Nothing out of the ordinary.

Half hour into the show, I comprehended why critics described the show as unbearably slow and tedious. It literally took forever for Björk and Barney to board the Japanese whaling ship and put on their elaborate costumes.

And of course, there was a morbid disturbing fascination with petroleum jelly but I would not go into there.

But true boredom awaited during the tea ceremony.

It was simply ridiculously meticulous. What could have probably taken a couple of minutes in a normal film dragged on for what seemed like hours. I felt like I was watching 20 hour marathon webcast of Fluid Mechanics lecture on 0.5X. Everyone in the full house theater were likewise, shifting distractingly in their seats.

But the best was saved for the last.

In a passionate and intimate scene, Björk and Barney slashed each other's legs off and proceed to have a slice of their own leg meat sushi.

Yummy...

Towards the end of the film, Björk and Barney morphed into whales and lived happily ever after. (No, I'm not kidding about the ending too.)