Sandy Bay, Tasmania. Imogen and Audrey navigate their lives in isolation. On Plains of Larger River & Woodlands explores the natural and arcade landscape they occupy as foreboding clouds roll in on a brink of a post-apocalyptic existence.
Miguel de Jesus decided to move to the island of Tasmania (Tassie for the locals). He lives and works on the other side of the world (literally) and, with his latest films, has sought to reflect on the position of the foreigner and the displaced – himself, but not only. The first of his films to tackle the issue of distance (both geographical and emotional) was Ultimate Bliss (2002). Now, with On Plains Of Larger River & Woodlands, the director throws himself into the strangeness of a world that dazzles and bores. Through the testimony of two young women, we hear stories of violence (sexual, psychological, physical) accompanied by images of a certain exotic bucolicism. It is precisely there – in the tension between what is heard and what is shown – that the spark of disturbance is ignited. As one of the girls says at one point, “If I had to describe Tassie in one word, I’d use ‘mundane’. But that’s probably not true.” Between the certainty of experiences (sex, drugs, the prevalence of weapons) and the power of the imaginary ( fixated by mythological representations of the olympus), a portrait emerges of a generation tormented by the detachment of annoyance. – Ricardo Vieira Lisboa
