Thunder

The current social paradigm of maintaining a “respectable” job has created a disassociation with oneself, allowing for iniquitous thoughts to plague the mind. Cosmic neon lights stream across the unconsciousness, distorting one’s perception of reality; thus, inhibiting one’s personal growth, and creating a depressive dilemma that cannot be easily remedied. “Correct” choices are unclear, aspirations become blurred and aimless, and the confusion is unremitting. Loneliness is par for the course, companionship is an elusive fantasy. The progressive succession of gallimaufry-like occurrences is ceaseless, constraining the will to participate in a society that doesn’t comprehend.

You see, but you don’t observe. You ... hear, but you are not listening. You sympathize, but you don’t care.

The shame. The regret. The ignominy. The unfulfilled expectations. The restlessness. The paranoia.

Nothing left to say, but….

Peek—a—boo.

**DO NOT WATCH IF YOU HAVE EPILEPSY / SENSITIVITY TO BRIGHT FLASHING LIGHTS**

TL;DR: Experimental short about Itou's standard themes, space and movement. Key players are an medium sized, unfurnished office building, electric discharge style visual overlays, and the overlay of a women's head and her hands. The visuals create a mix of unsettling and curious emotions in me.

Story: The camera moves trough an unfurnished office building, with a short excursion to the outside, in relative darkness. The movement is smooth, not jumpy with some scene changing cuts. Overlayed are three visual effect. First, the face of a gesturing woman and her hands. The main gesture ... is to cover her eyes. Second, electric discharge / flash style bright lines and shapes. Third, random light sources of different colors, mainly spots. The camera moves trough this for four minutes and ends on the still of the woman, of which now the full upper body half shown. 3/10

Animation: Parts of the short relies on cutting and camera position, not on animation. The light and line effects and the floating face in 1982 probably counted as animation, as CGI as such was not yet widely known and used. On the technical level everything is well executed for it's time, even for 2019 it's not bad. It still is something any video semi-pro can do today, maybe less artistically. 4/10

Sound: Mid-tempo ambient electronic music which changes over time, but not much. It supports the visuals pretty well and creates a mood I would describe as a mix of unsettling, warm, and curious. Thought was put into the sound department, so I can give a 5/10.

Character: The main "characters" are the building, the movement, and the visual overlays. Unlike in other Itou shorts, there is a less clear focus on space and movement. The effects steal the show here. 2/10

Enjoyment: It's still an experimental short, do not expect to be entertained. However, the visuals and ambient music creates an almost cozy feeling, so watching is no pain. It isn't thought provoking either. 4/10

Overall: (3+4+5+2+4)/5=3.6, rounded to 4.