User Reviews

Director Elias Merhige gives us his 2006 14-minute short film "Din of Celestial Birds". What is the strangest thing about it, is that this was shot after the director released "normal" movies such as "Shadow of the Vampire". Timeline-wise you'd expect "Din of Celestial Birds" more around the years when he directed Marylin Manson's "Anti-Christ Superstar" or even back in the 80s when he made his first steps in the business.But nope. This director went right back to his experimental phase seven years ago.

The film is shot in black and white and works a lot with light effects and darkness from start to finish. It reminded me a bit of a colorless version of a Stan Brakhage movie. However, while I liked some parts, I was rather unimpressed with the whole thing, which eventually even began to drag towards the 10-minute mark. It's one piece of pea-soup fog. If you're interested in experimental films, it's certainly worth a look, especially due to its late creation date and you usually see these kind of films when directors are trying to define their style, otherwise stay away.

E. Elias Merhige has always been a fascinating filmmaker to watch. Not only do his films refuse to adhere to genre formula, but they also force the viewer to look deep within themselves to ask who we really are. The sadly unfinished unfinished trilogy consisting of 'Begotten' and 'Din of Celestial Birds' refuse to be grounded into a specific genre, they are mesmerizing and fascinating works of art that delve deep into the human consciousness and into our possible origins and into what makes us human. 'Din of Celestial Birds' offers a different and more palpable approach to the mysticism and philosophical essence of its predecessor.

Viewing the film, my first impression was that it resembled a diluted and significantly shortened version of 'Begotten'. However, upon further examination, I found it to be a lot more in depth that I had previously assumed. Opening with a runish text, and done in a similar style to its predecessor, 'Din' tackles a completely different story, the theory of evolution. As a small ball of light appears and disappears on the screen of film grain, it suddenly explodes in a flash of blinding light representing the Big Bang. The montage of matter and molecules forming and evolving is nothing short of astonishing, and shows a high point in film artistry that has rarely been equaled by mainstream cinema. The closest I can describe it as would be something akin to Salvador Dali, and Jackson Pollock.

'Din' might not delve into the deep abyss of human nature as its predecessor did, its philosophical nature only barely touching the surface. Instead, the film decides to forgo the latter's cutthroat approach to deliver a more contemplative "sequel" that reflects upon one of the countless theories of our origins. As this montage of evolution and creations plays before our eyes, we cannot help but wonder what we are seeing. It is only at the end when man is shown formed from the primordial ooze that an understanding of what we have witnessed begins to form. The whole experience is remarkable and displays an impressive testament of using film as both an art and a delving into the regions of the metaphysical and philosophical. Highly recommended!