Lake of the Spirits (1998)

• 66%
• 1998
• Timoleon Wilkins

The scene is a visit to Pyramid Lake, western Nevada, early summer, with a good friend. Somewhat less concerned with myths of the old west than its predecessor, BLUE SUN WESTERN, this film paints a portrait of a mystic and beautiful landscape - itself a living character of the pre-historic west. In this locale the sun's light is both emitted from, and reflected by blue-black depths: coral-like rock formations provide the backdrop for a shadow-play of vibrations extending beyond the lake's ancient basin. Outside of time, these ripples echo through neon boulevards of present day, an 1800s-era cemetery, and back again - always in the formidable presence of the pyramid. On the soundtrack, a ghostly chorus rises and gives way to a ballad for a cowboy bandit - an extension of shared romantic hope. "The most successful metaphoric envisionment of the desert that I've seen in many years.