Roswell

Upon completion of viewing Roswell, It was easy to see why Kate had assigned this film. Like La Jetee, Nuit et Brouillard, and even the Shining the short documentary-esc film broaches ideas about memory, identity and even childhood. The cinematography of Roswell was unique in its amateur style. Simple animation and trick photography maintain a simplistic style well suited to the tone. There was a childish quality to the movie itself that centered on the life and journeys of a Starboy. Is this meant to be Bill? In Nuit et Brouillard we know that the director was himself a victim of the concentration camps. Does this closeness provide a deeper insight into the story? It seems in the case of Nuit et Brouillard the message is that we can never understand, even those who were there can not remember the real, the vividness, the horror of the Holocaust as it happened. In Roswell however, Bill invites the audience to join in his amusement and opens doorways to unconventional theories that may be some comfort in this universal condition of loneliness. These overwhelming emotions such as isolation are not only a planetary sentiment; even "aliens" experience them. I empathized with Starboy, the interstellar wanderer, searching the cosmos for his lonely letter-writing lady. Starboy is not the enemy; he is on our side against time. The difference between Starboy and us though is that he can escape it. Can you and I escape time? The film is nostalgic but is still mostly encouraging that, yes we can. Bill Brown makes us believe we can do whatever we want.. like make UFOs fly. So simple it is to see when your eyes want to. Perhaps it is through imagination and believing that we are able to escape the cruel experiments of time and hang onto our youth.