Din of Celestial Birds (2006) is a surrealist short film telling the story of the evolution of consciousness. I respect this film a lot, but I'm not sure if I'll ever watch it again. It has some amazing sound design and decent visuals, but not much else.
This film is full of unnerving and unique visuals, and filming the short in black and white is a great stylistic choice and very recognisable in E. Elias Merhige's work. It features a lot of flashing images and some great mirror image shots. Also, I loved the text that appears in the opening of the film.
My favourite part of this short by far is the sound design. It creates an incredibly eerie atmosphere and is mixed so well! Additionally, it fits the experimental nature of the movie well, and acts to enhance the viewing experience.
Like Begotten (1990), this film relies highly on metaphors and hidden messages, which forces the audience to think deeper and analyse each frame of the short. For this reason, I highly respect Din of Celestial Birds (2006) as it feels more like an art piece.
Lastly, the film has no clear structure or plot, making it a confusing yet intriguing watch. It is peak surrealist cinema and definitely not for everyone. Although I don't understand a lot of this movie, I think it's definitely worth the watch!
