‘The Year of the Everlasting Storm’ is an anthology featuring seven short films directed by Jafar Panahi, Anthony Chen, Malik Vitthal, Laura Poitras, Dominga Sotomayor, David Lowery and Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
The anthology is tied together by representing the unusual moment in time, covering a variety of responses and coping mechanisms to the Covid-19 pandemic, ranging from the documentation of a family’s initial response to the fictionalized chronicling of a woman following old letters to an unmarked grave.
The first segment, titled ‘Life’ follows a family and their initial days in lockdown. Written and directed by Jafar Panahi, we get to follow how his family copes with the restrictions and the emotional struggle the family experiences as they are separated from each other. The piece highlights the toll the restrictions take on the older generation as they are required to maintain a distance between their loved ones and how deeply that is felt.
Anthony Chen brings to the screen ‘The Break Away’. Much like the initial story, the segment highlights the strain being locked down has on a family of three, as the two parents try to cope with a young child during the mandatory restrictions.
The anthology takes a more real life crack at the pandemic as Malik Vitthal’s ‘Little Measures’ focuses on a father of three who has to endure the pandemic as he goes through the custody process, trying to maintain a close link to his three children who have all been placed in foster care following the dissolution of their family. Striking more to the severely that the previous tales, ‘Little Measures’ brings to the screen the hardship the father is experiencing as he grapples with being separated from his children.
Taking a swift left turn, Laura Poitras’ ‘Terror Contagion’ illuminates the activities of ‘Forensic Architecture’- a journalist group who are investigating the ‘Pegasus’ spyware and its eerie likeness to that of the spread of the Covid virus. Documenting the very real threat of ever increasing surveillance, the segment documents the journalists progress and the threat they face not only in terms of cyber attacks, but also the real life threat on their personal safety and well-being.
Dominga Sotomayor’s segment ‘Sin Titulo, 2020’ returns the anthology to a more interpersonal narrative, centering around a mother who plans to break the lockdown restrictions to see her daughter who has just giver birth. Providing a dark and dreary tone to the mundane nature of life in lockdown, the segment ends on a somewhat bittersweet note, as the mother gets to see her daughter and grandchild from a distance, knowing she won’t be able to meet with them until the restrictions are lifted. The story is a stark reminder that there are some life events that you have to be present for, that we won’t be able to replicate later.
David Lowery brings to the screen ‘Dig Up My Darling’, as story in which a woman tracks down a box of old letters, detailing the final resting place of a young boy. The segment is intriguing, with a relentless air of mystery about it, tying in the theme of isolation as we follow the woman on her solitary journey to the grave. Ending on a somewhat macabre note, the tale invites us to ponder what activities others may have been up to during the time no one was around, able to settle old scores and lay to rest long forgotten or ignored matters.
The final segment, directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, ‘Night Colonies’, is the most ambitious and experimental of all former stories, as the piece is a muted observation of insects and critters of the night as the camera follows them and their exploits, dancing around an empty bed illuminated by a number of florescent lights. Seemingly with the least to impress on the audience, the segment is most inviting for the viewer to draw whatever conclusions they may after viewing the swat of arthropods’ chaotic and ceaseless motion, as they only seem to quiet as the lights are slowly switched off one by one.
Even though the segments cover a great variety of topics, themes and styles of delivery, ‘The Year of the Everlasting Storm’ entices with each new story, allowing us to peer within the contrasting set of circumstances we’ve all had to go through, enabling us to view the pandemic and lockdown from new and different perspectives.
Even though the tone and mode of delivery of each segment can seem jarring at times, especially the switch from the family-centric docu-segment to the piece on investigative journalism and spyware, the film retains a highly alluring air about it. It may take a second to readjust our perception to fully take in and appreciate each new segment, but the film allows enough time for each piece to breathe, allowing for enough time for us to become consumed and entranced by each new story.
Unconventional in its structure and overall appearance, ‘The Year of the Everlasting Storm’ is a worth while venture, delivering insight on deeply personal matters and issues of global concern.
Score: 3/4
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