This extremely artistic short movie really deserves a brief review even though it only has a runtime of 7 minutes and contains no actual dialogue. Harry Kümel put "Aether" together in 1960 already, yet it contains some ideas that are definitely ahead of their time and even the photography is revolutionary, especially considering the possibilities in Belgian television around that period. The short story is incredibly rich on symbolism and revolves on the last hallucination/vision that a person experiences shortly before dying. An anonymous man runs down a spiral staircase to meet his girlfriend (?) in the parking lot, but he stumbles over a red ball and falls on his back. Subsequently, he has visions of himself at the beach and in the hospital but the football and particularly the red color continues to appear. "Aether" (don't ask me what the title signifies) reminded me about the work and styles of David Lynch and Samuël Fuller, and that's pretty impressive for a modest Belgian film experiment. Images such as the football bouncing down the stairs, or the light of day fading away inside a tunnel are extremely elegant and quite haunting. A little triumph for Belgian cinema.

Dutch cinema often combines understated realism with offbeat humor, tackling moral ambiguity and social change. It balances intimate storytelling with bold, sometimes provocative, visual styles. Dutch films combine art-house sensibility with grounded storytelling, reflecting the country's open, yet quietly complex culture.

Rutger Hauer and Monique van de Ven in Turkish Delight (1973)

The drama genre is a broad category that features stories portraying human experiences, emotions, conflicts, and relationships in a realistic and emotionally impactful way. Dramas delve into the complexities of human life, often exploring themes of love, loss, morality, societal issues, personal growth, with the aim to evoke an emotional response from the audience by presenting relatable and thought-provoking stories.

Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)

The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

The Biggest Movies and TV Coming in September

See which big screen releases you can watch from the comfort of your couch.

Theatrical Releases Coming to Streaming

See who dazzled on the red carpet and took home gold at the 78th Primetime Creative Emmy Awards.

Aether

Photos

Top Cast2

User reviews2

Related interests

Storyline

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed