The Rill Is Speaking screens at the Fall 2023 New Jersey Film Festival on Sunday, September 17!

by Natalie Tango - published 2023-09-11

The Rill Is Speaking creates a sense of uneasiness through many cinematic means. The most prominent of which is the audio. Similar to Lynch’s Eraserhead, this film uses striking sounds to terrify the viewers and compensate for the lack of color used throughout the film. The film’s voluntary lack of color is used to show the stark contrasts between scenes, characters, or objects. A prime example is when the viewers are juxtaposed with shots between the two main characters on Facetime. The man with the bird is optimistic about life and tries to convince his friend on the other line to move out of New York City because its corruption corrupts his soul. However, we are shown a different reality when we are shown the darkness in the following shot. We are shown a man who has passed the point of finding a solution. We see a man so consumed by capitalism and the drive to work that he cannot return or even fathom a different reality. Also, the lack of color also symbolizes the lack of vibrancy and excitement in the lives of those who work at companies like this. Their daily pattern never changes, while the pressure seems to never decrease. This is the main reason for the events that occur in the film; that our human desires are never fully satiated, rather we are deprived of experiences that create a meaningful existence.