21/02/2022 - BERLINALE 2022: Jorge Jácome’s first feature is an otherworldly cinematic experience that invites the audience to explore the territories of a unique collective journey

It seems fair to say (or to assume) that most people ache for real connections: with other human beings, with elements of the (un)natural world and/or with works of art. Right from the start, Jorge Jácome’s first feature Super Natural [+see also:
trailer
film profile], winner of the FIPRESCI prize in the Forum section at the Berlinale, presents itself as an open invitation for the audience to connect with a unique cinematic experience. After a 2-minute sequence filled with a visual void, we then enter a portal of abstract, colourful sensory stimuli that could be used on a daily basis to satisfy all of our meditative needs. This is how everything — and this film — begins: we open the doors to our subconscious, in a seemingly contradictory state of pure immersion, feeling a strong sense of self and a powerful connection to the experience we’re about to delve into.

Super Natural is a collaborative work created by Jorge Jácome, the dance company Dançando com a Diferença and the theatre company Teatro Praga, that visually portrays the landscapes of Funchal, in Madeira. We follow these dancers in their exploration of the possibilities of movement within the land, as well as their attentive gestures towards the slightest details of the world that surrounds them. The sublime fluidity of said choreographies of the human touch is accompanied by a visual approach that consistently shifts its format. It’s a constant experimentation with the visual potential of diverse aesthetics: from trashy Instagram-like images, to Super 8. It’s a concept that could have easily gone wrong, but here, we instead get the feeling of witnessing a real touch of genius. This is in no small part thanks to the gaze of Marta Simões as Director of Photography and Jorge Jácome’s masterful abilities as an editor. There is a sense of harmony in the discrepancies and disruptions of formats that feels close to home and to life.

In this nonlinear trajectory, we rely on a non-human translated voice to guide us on a journey that goes beyond the land towards the uncharted territories of the mind, of the self and of our world. It’s a formal element that we can recall from Jorge Jácome’s last short film, called Past Perfect. In this case, there’s a sense of being present that comes from the addition of sound to the subtitles. Even though it tends to feel a little too present (as the text is sometimes a tad repetitive and demanding of the spectator’s attention), this non-human voice nonetheless adds yet another layer that aids in the constant expansion of the visual space: we travel in different dimensions inside and outside the film, as the voice itself shifts its point of view, making it unclear who exactly is talking to us — but that is part of the magic. It’s a challenge we willingly accept in this poetic ecosystem, allowing us to expand and reflect on a multitude of themes common to all humanity. 

The film’s sound (designed and mixed by Antonio Porém Pires) and score (created by Portuguese sound artists Violet and Raw Forest) is a fundamental piece in this outstanding sonic journey. Immersion in this flux of images and sensations is definitely highlighted by their great understanding of the use of sound. But sound is also what allows this film to have lighter and comic moments: one of the most iconic video clips and music hits from 2021 might just be found in this film, as well as one of the most dramatic humanisations of a dragon fruit in film history.

Accepting this cinematic invitation to an otherworldly experience is more than worth it: we might just be gazing upon a transformative moment of what cinema is all about. A sensory (and, indeed, supernatural) embrace filled with contradictions, emotions, landscapes of layers and thoughts that builds a real and everlasting connection with its audience.

Super Natural was produced by Ukbar Filmes, in co-production with Dançando com a Diferença and Teatro Praga. International sales are handled by Portugal Film.