Rhythms of the Heart (1990)

• 80%
• 1990
• Steve Sanguedolce

"In Rhythms of the Heart, Steve Sanguedolce's affinity for expressionistic documentaries turns to the depiction of a ruined relationship. Rhythms of the Heart typifies many of the Escarpment School concerns in its blend of personal narrative and landscape, redrafting its romantic heritage in a love story that deconstructs narrative traditions even as it tears its characters apart. Sanguedolce insistently replays loss through a metaphorical landscape while tirelessly focusing on the personally domestic. The films' centre presents a myriad of visual enclosures such as sparsely lit studios, counter tops or framed bathrooms. The characters search throughout the film to find space within the maze of these settings which could allow them to live without the (Dionysian) dissolutions of sexual passion or the (Apollonian) dictates of the law.