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The Nonsense

The Nonsense: Decoding the Absurd

  • Hend SameerNoha Redwan...
  • Drama
  • Out now
  • Noha RedwanSarah El Sawy
reviewed by
Mai Ayyad
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The Nonsense: Decoding the Absurd

‘The colourless yellow flowers sleep furiously.’ There’s no need to
exhaust yourself trying to understand what this statement means. Appealing and
paradoxical as it is, it seems at first like a line of Baudelairian verse. But
at least, Baudelaire was able to convince his readers that flowers can be evil.
He still made some sense; he never claimed that yellow flowers are colourless!

The Nonsense is an experimental short film by aspiring director and self-described ‘Muslim artist’ Noha Redwan, who presents the
audience with four images that might seem interesting and charged with meaning;
but when seen from a deeper perspective, they come to symbolise supreme
piffle.  

Redwan’s
point is clear. Just like her epigraph, there are phrases that are often syntactically
correct, yet are devoid of meaning. Even more threatening; some events may be
set intentionally for the sake
of creating delusion.

Remember Orwell’s Animal
Farm
motto
‘All animals are equal,
but some animals are more equal than others’? Such a deceptive, nonsensical
slogan has become a nonnegotiable commandment that defines political policies
and relations.

Redwan
says that the same idea happens every day and is promoted through different
mediums. With the evolution in media, your brain is constantly being punctured
with prejudiced ideological views.

Using
its maker’s words, the project is a ‘wakeup call.’ Developing a reflective
attitude towards the simple phenomena that cross our paths daily; you might be
shocked by the amount of nonsense that dominates our lives.

The Nonsense is a very shocking film. The audience will struggle
painstakingly to make sense of the 2:21-minute film. Furthermore, the sounds and images make
things even more perplexing. No meaning can be drawn from them; because nonsense
should never make sense.

The
film is eccentrically innovative and fresh, to the extent that it cannot be compared
to any other film, or categorised into any popular genre. However, the
audience may need help to understand its purpose and goal. Foreseeing this
problem, Redwan accompanies the film with an adequate commentary that expresses
her vision and guides her audience through the puzzling film.

The Nonsense is a good project that does not conform to the mainstream taste. Give
it a chance; you might be surprised.

Screened as
part of Women’s Voices
from the Muslim World: A Short-Film Festival.
Watch on http://womensvoicesnow.org

Like This? Try

Nour, Male and Female, Girls’ Talk.

360 Tip

Make sure to read the director’s notes; otherwise, it is pointless to watch.

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