Change of Course is a short Austrian film directed by Andreas Ortner and written by Helmut-Michael Kemmer. Ortner plays one half of a sinister duo with Martina Martinz as the female counterpart. The film plays out as a sort of manifesto for the times with the male and female protagonist delivering short monologues entwined with visual embellishments. The film has some artistic potential however I find some areas of its premise quite unnerving and contextually inappropriate.
Beginning with the positives, the film has certainly created its own style of narrative delivery. I’m not a huge fan of the direct address to the audience here as it gives the sense of being absorbed into a cult. However the transitions between scenes and the way the external action blends into the monologue delivery was interesting. The film blends elements of the theatre with the freedom that filmmaking allows which has good potential to be developed further.
Beyond this is where I start to become uncomfortable. The film clearly is using the current coronavirus pandemic as part of its premise, and because this issue is still very much ongoing I feel it is of the utmost important to treat it carefully. In the first scene, Ortner takes off an ornate plague doctor style mask and declares “It’s time to take off our masks and put an end to the resigned silence.” Masks, of course, have connotations of many things; hiding from ourselves, from others, from society. Recently masks have become analogues with being last line of defence between humans and coronavirus. Featuring both decorative masks, blindfolds and the coronavirus face shields, Change of Course appears to blend these connotations together, suggesting they all repress identity. There are other links to themes of war, violence, surveillance, addiction – all of which appear to be somehow linked to coronavirus. Whether intentional or not, this serves to induce doubt, fear and unrest within a world that is still in the middle of a global pandemic. While the film tries to incite a new order of peace and speaks of art, togetherness, and other positive things, this seems to be inherently connected with people choosing to ignore the impact and dangers of the pandemic.
Whether these implications were intended or not, Change of Course simply doesn’t take a clear enough stand point on the issues raised, instead tethering loosely connected ideas, thoughts and beliefs together with potentially damaging results. The final images of two parents taking off their masks (even though these aren’t coronavirus masks) simply seems to be inciting some sort of rebellion against the practice which is entirely inappropriate. This could be an incorrect reading of the film, however ambiguity in a time of crisis such as this is never a good thing.
Recently the death toll from coronavirus passed 100,000 in the UK and it’s important to be considerate of how we use current events within art, especially when peoples’ lives are at risk.