From the opening second of this less-than-three-minute short film I recognised the music playing over the already eye-catching images as deftly similar to that of Cliff Martinez’s haunting sythny score from The Neon Demon. And those initial images, a privileged outdoor pool; a large manor house; flashes of colour and sequins almost too quick for the eye. Perfect setting for a kind of catwalk for shooting a fashion or fragrance commercial – just like those final scenes of that divisive Nicolas Winding Refn picture.
The Mirror is no copy-cat though, merely an intricately crafted continuation of a decades old trend. The stunning, chisel-jawed model at the centre of things here is enveloped into a pensive, gorgeously visual trance, where she sees doubles of herself in various forms of sartorial and hair styling. But is it also her? Like many of these elaborate, beautifully realised short films – platformed as commercials or fashion videos – the abstract and perhaps eerie temperament of reflection is a key component. And the aptly-named The Mirror is hardly an exception.
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Filmmaker Giulia Achenza – who has been to the Femme Filmmakers Festival previously with the the also visually enticing Fenice – certainly has an eye for silky movement and contrasting textures. For someone who has explored her talents with the likes of Armani and Vogue, Achenza’s use of the colour blends here are not necessary just done with a make-up brush and lens adjustments. The vivid, sumptuous views are manufactured by the incredible collaboration of a technical team time worthy of the applause that accompanies the close of this short film.
Production design to die for, the shots edited lushly to the second, jarring use of music – not to mention the appropriately alluring costume design, of course. And the effective way the model is directed warrants praise. Short films, perhaps ads and music videos in particular, are incredibly not playing a huge part in the media review coverage. But the work behind the camera is stellar stuff, our heroine fills the depth of space with an unwiring poise and mysterious presence. Achenza’s handling of the filmmaking and her female subject is so much a part of the surreal but magnetic world created.
