We constantly pass by a lot of things without even noticing, but these little details make up the city we live in and provide us these profound experiences. When I was young I was so focused on my life and the present that I had no composure to look around the world. And thinking about it now, I regret it so much.
“As I became invisible, I began to see things that had once been invisible to me.”
Taking a step backward and looking at the world from a distance I realized many things. I make myself invisible and see the world as if I am watching a movie through the screen. All of a sudden the world becomes much interesting, once you remove yourself from the premises. So from time to time, I wander around the city, walking to the places as my feet moves. And as I move further away from 5th Avenue, the city becomes more attractive. New York becomes quiet, calm, and more beautiful. For a second I forget that I am in Manhattan and think that I am traveling into a whole new city.
This short film Lost Book Found by Jem Cohen, sort of reflects the trivial matters that people neglect. He begins his film with the narrator looking down on the city in one of its high skyscrapers. The city pictured in his film seems all so beautiful and mesmerizing with the bright lights that seem to never fade. This is the dazzling New York we imagine. But is this the real New York? Or is it something else? There are times when you think that something is all so beautiful with a slight glance, but after deeply looking within, you realize that it is eventually empty inside. And I think Jem Cohen is trying to say that what makes the city beautiful is not is glamorous features, but the things we deem it as marginal and useless; the objects we deny its existence like those under the subway ventilation.
I personally liked this film, as it reminded me of time when I was so into watching short films by college students in Korea. They had a different texture from Hollywood films and even Indie films. These short films have its uniqueness, roughness, and an air of reality. Though they are different in many ways, Jem Cohen’s film reminded me of this. Though its visual was somewhat depressing, while I was watching I felt rather calm and happy. And I think this was what Cohen might have been going for — seeing the true beauty that lies beneath.
