An Inertial Frame of Reference (three poems)

Written like a love letter, An Inertial Frame of Reference (three poems) is a sensationally crafted short film that acts to perform poetry. Combining original film clips, home videos and stock footage, the film shares stories of love, separation and memory all within a proudly peaceful backdrop. Although a slow short, every aspect of its creation has been thought through in such detail that the final execution is heartfelt and deliberate of equal measure.

Due to be released in 2023, this spectacular ode to words and expressions was crafted by the acclaimed filmmakers and industry editors Damian Gonzalez and Jeremy Weinstein. This being their latest work is so described, according to IMDB, as “the memories our dreams reinterpret after our relationships have been left behind,” and it is fair to say that the short film works gracefully to embody this description. The four minutes of poetry the viewer is permitted to experience is visualised gracefully and deliberately to combine multiple aspects of nature, life, birth and loss. It acts as a poetic way of processing feeling on screen, the concept of which feels fresh and exciting.

Imagery personifies the emotions within the poems perfectly. Viewers admire the seascape and are permitted to become lost in it, before being grounded with more images of snow and sun and then sea again. Its cyclical nature feels inevitable as it is a reminder that nature simultaneously continues to evolve and repeating regardless of human existence. Alongside this, a peaceful and almost comforting score captures the words spoken with the tranquil sounds of nature and existence entwined with humanity. Every sequence and brief beautiful as it powerfully captures what it is like to live within the words of the three poems. It feels abstract and yet it is deliberate with its ability to incite audience reaction and contemplation.

A basic definition of ‘an inertial frame of reference’ is a frame of reference that is not undergoing any acceleration, particularly within the context of physics and relativity. It feels as though Gonzalez and Weinstein’s film seeks to encapsulates just that and succeeds with a slow and deliberate pace and zooming in on every close detail in a very deliberate way. It almost acts as though, if it were not to pay tribute to and visually explain particular poems, that it was paying tribute to slow cinema. Cinematography is gorgeous as it captures the world around these voices, recited by Karine Da Silva and John R. Colley, speaking poignant words that encounter the human condition and allude to both personal and collective struggles within humanity.

Short and sweet, An Inertial Frame of Reference (three poems) seeks to teach its viewers how to encounter poetry in a new and artistic way. It acts as an immersive guide for experiencing the events and emotions handled through the words spoken yet remains abstract and experimental enough that it is also open for interpretation and the viewer can self-identify events if they choose to. With so much visual and audio enjoyment, is well worth experiencing.