Jumbo Aqua (A Collage by G. Bruno). 2000. By James Herbert.

(9/17/00)

This is an extraordinary film to see. Herbert uses his traditional technique of rephotography, but here he rephotographs 16mm footage in 35mm. The difference is remarkable. The colors and textures are so fresh and vital. It is an amazing thing to see.

It is also an amazing thing to hear. Most--maybe all--of the Herbert films that I have heretofore seen are silent. Here there is a remarkable command of the soundtrack. The sounds enhance the imagery. I had previously thought that silence worked well for Herbert, that it complemented the sense of intense looking at the images. In this film the sound seems to open up a whole new dimension and I feel like we have been missing out all these years, not having soundtracks on these films.

One sound that sticks in my mind is that of the clinking of bottles. We see lovers on a blanket outdoors. Then the camera (the original 16mm camers) pans and we see a couple of beer bottles. We just see them in a still image, not touching, but we hear the sound of bottles clinking. It works.

The film was shot in Italy. This is a new setting for a Herbert film. Italy is lush, vivid, beautiful, a perfect setting for a film in which beautiful young people engage in an act both classic and timeless. Yet, this is a very modern Italy.

Herbert places a couch for his lovers in a modern industrial street, a street filled with rubble and debris. That struck me as brilliant and I find that scene highly erotic. It is the Italy of Antonioni's Red Desert.