Molly Dario
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
Molly Dario is a California-based experimental moving-image director / artist whose works deal with dream-like sequences of nihilism and corruption around her protagonists. One such moving-image project would be Hexed is a (Woman) Nightingale Half-Dreamed. Molly describes her approach as exploring “human desires, our current cultures romance with technology, communication to the natural and unnatural, all while denoting symbols to both past and future worlds”.
Hexed is a (Woman) Nightingale Half-Dreamed can be arguably described as a moving-image which also serves as a video-collage and a nightmarish erotic psychological thriller filled with vivid dream-like sequences. The synopsis of the film would entail a protagonist who is trapped in a post-apocalyptic world which has evolved into simulations, due to an over-abundance of digitization. These simulations deploy ‘spiritual parasites’ seeking to corrupt the woman in the film. In struggling with this corruption, the actor ultimately succumbs to the tyranny of the machine-infused world she inhabits, only to take control over her simulated restraints invoking bodily autonomy and an escape to nature as a memory, rather than a destination.
There are two main elements we can take away from Hexed…First, the indirect occult and pagan-like symbolism sprinkled throughout the feature seems to indicate the sinister nature of these digitized simulations, or convey a sense of spiritual despair. From a goat imprinting blood onto a woman’s hands to the Eye of Horus to repeated references of blood rituals, the occult symbols accentuate the sense of horror and bleakness contained within this environment. Hexed…visually and literary conveys an overarching surveillance state which seeks to control the mind of the protagonist.
The middle of the film contains the most overtly erotic content, not just visually but also from a narrative perspective. In this specific sequence, texts detail of “the body recalls…its ancient work…blood-warm hunger…system wired…for animal chaos…”, then proceeds to display an erotic dance of a woman with a highway against a blue background leading to the figure. This lucid experience conveys sensuality as a subconscious drive for motivation, a declaration of personal freedom, and liberation. Through the ominous highway leading to the erotic dancer amidst a blue velvet background with provocative poses, we are left with an impactful engagement. Two other notable sequences contain the protagonist floating in the urban sky with beams of light penetrating her skin along with another act which portrays a cartoonish suburban front yard depicted in neon colors, with a woman pushing a lawnmower. What we can obtain from these collective recollections would be a narrative based on breaking out of confinement or converting restraints towards your own purpose.
What the portfolio of Molly Dario reveals to us is a moving-image director / artist who uses film as a means of carefully-reflective sequences. Typically in motion pictures, the summary determines the impact. However, in the moving-images of Molly Dario we will find lucid, engaging sequences which push the boundaries of subconscious horror, erotica, psychological visual interpretations, and relationships of identity amongst the nihilism of the digital era within carefully-developed individual scenes. In Hexed is a (Woman) Nightingale Half-Dreamed we are transported into a world where technology goes horribly wrong. A realm where total control becomes relinquished to the machine and Molly Dario reveals a narrative of using the power of simulation to control one own’s destiny, even if unable to break free of digital tyranny. This powerful performative and digitally-enhanced moving-image has us on ponder on the hallucinogenic alterations of reality amidst machinations which seek to control and divide us through the power of advanced technology. The protagonist in Hexed… is an anti-heroine who both fears and uses the simulations to exert the power of her own will of reflective nature onto the cold features of the machine. In essence, she becomes a synthesis with her digitized foe, as opposed to defeat on either side, revealing a narrative and visuals in both despair and glory.
