DESERT DREAMING

People want to hear stories about debasement, about journeys, and not traveling, and they want to hear them as clearly as possible. But to filter a story through the noise and incongruities of everyday spaces, to fail to decipher, yet to be able to hear it still, that – paradoxical as it is — is like the difference between understanding and learning. Desert Dreaming draws us into a rambling story in anticipation of its punchline. But as revelations and punchlines are already taken, what we get to experience on the screen is a series of photoshopped images, some digital hiccups that capture the essence of travel. All the while, the film processes the skin tones of digital visitors that were pasted into the frame, making them match those of famous tourist attractions. (Emil Vasilache)