Written and directed by Colin Hickey, in coastal Ireland, a young boy makes the journey from childhood to adulthood, where the haunting memory of his best friend’s sudden death triggers a turbulent inner struggle. As he grapples with dark and existential thoughts, the young fisherman embarks on a quest for healing and redemption. Starring: Liam Cotter, Clara Rose Hickey, Sahar Jarrahie-Koom, Ciara Kirby, Muriel O’Brady, Finn O’Donovan and Jack O’Mahony.
To start with the obvious, making a feature that is entirely without dialogue is always going to be extremely difficult, so credit to Colin Hickey for putting together a cohesive eighty-two minute film with zero words spoken. It’s a serious swing, especially in a world where brains are being melted with inane, sensory overload, thirty-second clips. So, while not everything works, that doesn’t undermine what Perennial Light achieves.
One of its strongest successes is a key element to making this feature work, and that’s the sound. Hickey introduces us to Perennial Light with a strong score, it’s classic and pensive, drawing you nicely into this contemplative journey. It helps the film build its core melancholic yet retrospective tone. That’s then blended with a lot of ambient sound, nature and the general surroundings have a lot to offer when used in the right way and this is a good example.
Hickey then mixes in a use of animation (by Paolo Chianta) which all throughout the film accents the emotions. It feeds directly into the theme of mental health and expands the messages and themes, while also adding personality and almost a sense of intimacy. Chianta’s hand drawn style provides a great contrast to the sharp aesthetic of its black and white cinematography.
There are a lot of excellent shots all throughout Perennial Light, making the most of the landscapes and natural surroundings. However, there are times where it feels like shots are being included purely because they’re good rather than for what they have to add to the story. It’s not necessarily a negative but it does add a more meandering note to the pacing, which in itself is already very slow. There’s an intentional patience and gradual nature to the way that it moves and that is asking more of an audience than many average viewers today may be willing to give.
Perennial Light creates an exploration of the cycle of life and how experiencing the death of a loved one is a feeling that never leaves us but evolves over time. What it comes down to with this feature is that it feels as though Colin Hickey achieves what he set out to do, which is something that should not be underestimated.
There are so many ways in which projects like this can run away from filmmakers so to create something without dialogue but with feeling, flow and a foundation of mental health and grief, is undeniably a success. It’s shot very well, the animation was a very nice touch and while it may not pack a strong punch, it’s an interesting step away from the norm.
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