To some, sacrifices make life seems worthwhile. To a God unknown, poetically deliberates this human trait, and when aligned with the divine, sacrifice takes on a whole new meaning. Set in three parts, each part a poetic rendition of a disparate aspect of the supreme sacrifice, Director Samantha Casella composes a visual verse through poetry and powerful imagery. This experimental short film choses lines from poetry of Sergey Esenin and Arthur Rimbaud and a passage from the Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck to string together this beautiful riviere. The film explores man’s relationship with his land and love, just as John Steinbeck does with his book of the same name, and the hopeless passion that sometimes connect the two, driving him to sacrifice life for the land.
This experimental film stands tall particularly on its strikingly powerful imagery, and the camera work breathes life into these oils on canvas. Propped up by solemn music, together they invite the viewer into the beautiful painting-isque visuals. Like each starling, when it stays true to its purpose, the chattering as a whole, paint the sky with their kinetic sculptures, thus too, when life is sacrificed for love, it is not the end, but the beginning of the turmoil on the bigger stage.
To a God unknown, is a bold experiment marrying poetry with the metaphysical, without losing out on either. And like with the case of Ophelia, it can be said about the film that ‘It is true to herself and hence her problems’.
