Once again trolling the ultra hip, fashion/music/art site Nowness, this time given some direction through its maze of films specifically by the site itself, I came upon Casi. Originally entitled First We Take Manhattan, this is a whimsical and inventive gem of a dance film by Director Casey Brooks.
Shot entirely in black and white, using lots of super fast motion with locked down camera angles, Casi tips its hat to old movies in the vein of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton as two female dancers – Hillary Pearson and Maria Volpe – take the viewer on a capricious romp and tour of select Manhattan waterfront, parks, and city streets. As the dance, framing, and editing work in tandem with its quirky music (by super cool electronic music maker XXYYXX, aka Marcel Everett) the magic of Casi is that it tweaks the viewer’s eye, inventively directing us to experience the distance, perspective, and scale unique to each site. I love the choreography as it relates to each location, particularly the dance with the umbrella and the semi-naked, four legged, high-heeled walk down a city street and through a grassy park.
Like some of my favorite short dance films, Casi looks as if it was shot on the fly at each location with a very specific idea using movement improvisation, and then – especially in terms of the editing and music – was discovered fully in post production. It’s a smart, gentle, feel good sort of film that makes me want to go out and dance on a street corner for no reason whatsoever.
Enjoy.
[embedvideo id=”136241041″ website=”vimeo”]
Casi – Screen Test from Casey Brooks on Vimeo.