SPIRITS OF THE AIR, GREMLINS OF THE CLOUDS
Dir. Alex Proyas, 1987.
Australia. 93 min.
In English.

FRIDAY, APRIL 5 – MIDNIGHT
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10 – 10 PM
SUNDAY, APRIL 14 – 7:30 PM
THURSDAY, APRIL 18 – 7:30 PM

Alex Proyas’s first feature is a striking, surreal, and meditative post-apocalyptic sci-fi set in the Australian outback. The film follows Felix and Betty, two ultra-religious siblings, who have lived their lives in complete isolation until the arrival of Smith, a mysterious wanderer who is attempting to elude vague malicious pursers. Smith and Felix form an unlikely friendship as Felix’s hyperfixation proves to be Smith’s only route to salvation: building a flying machine. Meanwhile, Betty acquires a hyperfixation of her own through her obsessive distrust of Smith.

SPIRITS OF THE AIR, GREMLINS OF THE CLOUDS is a low-budget audiovisual tour-de-force. The film’s quirkiness and borderline steampunk aesthetics walk a fine line that never crosses over from inventiveness into cringe. While synthesizers typically bring to mind tight, catchy electronic melodies, they are, at their core, experimental instruments of infinite possibilities; composer Peter Miller expertly captures the film’s arid isolation with his lingering, dissonant score. If you’ve ever longed to watch a version of MAD MAX that was inspired by Tarkovsky, this is the film for you.