Heroin

This is a curious short film directed by a first-time director who creates some impressive imagery that leaves viewers confused, curious and always wanting to know what will happen next each scene goes by. "Heroin" marks as the directorial debut of artist and AIDS activist David Wojnarowicz, ofwhom I just heard about recently and got the opportunity to watch some of his enigmatic artistic works. He's good in his creations even though his forms of using abstract arts isn't much appealing or sensual like a Derek Jarman.

In "Heroin" he presents small abstract sketches where a drug dealer tries to score his next possible client. A couple of scenes earlier he is introduced while on a rooftop with a sheet covering his head and there's a man who keeps pointing a gun and shooting at him. The scene repeats for some time then we find out his schemes to get new costumers of whom he sells drugs and then cuts to one of them shooting up heroin.

I guess it was just a way for the director to present a harsh reality that was escalating at the time (the heroin epidemic of the late 1970's and early 1980's), real enough to make you aware of the situation back then but not shocking enough for you to feel impressed by it since we don't have enough time to really know the distant characters who don't say a word through the whole thing; it's hard to care for them or what they do. One is a suffering figure while the other is the main cause of the latter's disgrace and downfall.

It's a well shot film despite the limited budget and filled with artistic qualities but for today's standards it isn't all that appealing. Destined to attract curious viewers in seeing an underground project from the 1980's. 6/10.