Whipping Zombie

Cinematography takes precedence over narrative in Italian visual artist Yuri Ancarani's impressionistic ethnographic documentary revolving around a Haitian ritual that is called "kale zonbi" or whipping zombie. After an unidentified narrator sets the scene, Ancarani lets scenes play out devoid of subtitles or conventional score: goats explore a colorful cemetery, crustaceans amble along a littered beach, a woman pours water over a boy's head, shirtless men hammer patterns into metal plates, and flames rise up out of an oil can (the flattened oil cans provide material for exquisite metal pieces). Ancarani then turns to dancers, none of whom act or dress like the zombies of popular entertainment, and whose moves vary from person to person while drumming and the occasional chant accompany every routine. In one instance, a man whips another, mostly around the arms and the posterior; the former looks like a vicious combatant attacking a hapless victim, since the latter makes no attempt to protect himself. In another instance, two participants whip each other while jumping up and down; this pair appear to be more equally matched, although male aggression pervades every configuration. Gradually, the drumming, whipping, and hammering combine to create a symphony of percussion as Ancarani cuts from scene to scene. At times, he slows things down in order to focus on the faces of specific participants and audience members, and while it isn't obvious at first, it eventually becomes clear that the dancers stand in for masters and slaves who are collectively reliving and exorcising the trauma of the island's slave trade past. A unique, troubling film, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy)