A splendid and artistic short film about life and its movements

Zbigniew Rybczynski's experimental short film "Imagine" as a concept music video for John Lennon's famous song is one of those dazzling spectacles that audiences fight hard to figure out how the director made such a visual spectacle of editing and effects, at the same time we are moved and impressed by the message he wants to share and the ideas he wants to show us.

The scheme: a series of characters evolve from childhood to old age as they cross apartment doors and rooms, with a New York skyline matte painting as background, with the World Trade Center visible and somehow that image does not change whenever the characters come and go, disappear, morph into another, and get old. Child's plays, first romances, little conflicts, growing up and getting married, having kids, basically the facts of life with the bizarre/amusing exception of a horse inside the room who's taken care by a man. There isn't much of an idea of seeing the same characters from beginning to end, as there are far too many changes and the constant movement gives the impression that it's all done in one long sequence that lasts four minutes (there's a music video by Elton John that followed a similar scenario but it revolved around dancers and choreographies, released the year after this short).

And how does Lennon iconic song fits such scenario? It's all about the ideas of peace, connecting with family, friends and strangers in an almost utopic way where everybody gets along with everybody, as human beings are united through similar quests for love, respect, stability, family but there's many variants and situations that prevents an ideal world from happening - and the goal sometimes isn't all the same, or conquered in the same way. The people in "Imagine" live their lives and conducts their business with ease, at times with difficult, and there's never a sense of real danger or loss, and probably the biggest challenged faced by the youngsters presented are dealing with romantic rivalry that leads to conflict and abandonment.

But if the romantic and idealist view of the world doesn't appeal to you, the artistry brought by Rybczynski is a first rate material deserving of appreciation. I had to watch it a couple of times to try to understand what I was seeing and figure out how he composed each shot and how it was edited. It's a very complex gathering of elements and scenarios, too many things going on that one view is simply not enough. He makes life look simple, safe and fun with all the reflections given. It feels like a dream. 10/10.

The music genre features stories showcasing musical performances, music-related documentaries and recordings of live concerts and music festivals.

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Imagine is an experimental HDTV short film by Zbigniew Rybczynski, with the music of John Lennon.

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