Review of Kiera Faber’s Obscurer
Review by Chrystel Lopez
Developmentally Edited by Alexandra Hidalgo
Copy Edited and Posted by Iliana Cosme-Brooks
Obscurer (2018). 19 minutes. Directed and written by Kiera Faber. Starring Kiera Faber. Featuring Pamela Bacon.
In another, less pandemic-ridden world, I am in an imaginary contemporary art museum, strolling through marble-tiled halls when I walk into a dark room and find myself watching a short film. I see a woman with long curls in a linen dress, laying in a bed made of straw. In the next frame, a puppet moving in seamless stop-motion caresses her back. Intrigued, I put on the old-school, imaginary headphones provided by the gallery. I hear the sharp sounds of grinding gears and then a melody of windchimes. I am watching Kiera Faber’s Obscurer.
Obscurer was on exhibit in the South Bend Museum of Art in Indiana. The 2018 film blends stop-motion with live-action, using handcrafted puppets and illustrations that interact with the sole actor, Kiera Faber, who remains faceless and voiceless throughout the film. In fact, the only voices we hear are either spoken by puppets or droned in a fictional language.
This experimental film isn’t easily dissected. It feels less like a movie and more like a three-dimensional painting. Sounds and shadows of creaky tree branches fly around the frame, and for a second it feels like they are coming your way. Every shot seems to be its own canvas, its own story filled with feeling. In one shot we see tally marks on the wall hinting at emotional isolation or imprisonment. In another we see puppets caring for a child, illustrating ideas of motherhood.
I experienced a myriad of emotions while watching Obscurer. The film evokes nostalgia with old books, dolls, and floral patterns, causing my own memories of girlhood to flood back. But aspects of the stop-motion inherently create a feeling of unease. Surrealist puppets move seamlessly yet unnaturally to juxtapose our main character’s flowing movements. The audio works to intentionally guide the audience through these feelings of discomfort. The biting sounds as bugs infested her room forced me to check my surroundings. Aspects of the film seep into reality and into our own experience. In this way, the “meaning” of the film is a person’s reflection of themselves. I thought of my own experience with clinical depression when I saw our voiceless main character in bed, marking down the days on her wall as puppets taunted and imitated her. No doubt your “meaning” will be different from mine.
Many filmmakers intend to create something that is up for audience interpretation, but often their films have a pretty direct theme or two. There isn’t room for much else. Obscurer, however, is an open-ended story. The film feels limitless yet linear, with storybook-esque cinematography and sound design that puts ASMR to shame. In Obscurer, Kiera Faber has created a uniquely beautiful and disturbing world.
Watch the trailer for Obscurer here. Learn more about the film by visiting its website. Connect with Chrystel by visiting her profile.