Rhiannon Elizabeth Irons
It’s no secret that I enjoy independent films. Indie films often lead to new ideas, and in some cases, a singular independent film can break into the mainstream world, cementing themselves as a box office success.
Australia has produced several serious contenders when it comes to the indie film scene. Movies like Turnaround (1983), Fear of the Dark (1985), and Pure Shit (1975) have left their mark on the Aussie film industry.
Kevin Khachan is a name you may be familiar with if you’ve read my reviews before. I had the pleasure of reviewing his movie Remnants at the beginning of the year. Check out that review here.
Box: Metaphor was released in June 2023 and boasts a simple concept; A woman is trapped in a box and we, the audience, view a dystopian world through her eyes via a small opening.
Filmed during the heights of the global pandemic, Box: Metaphor faced many challenges aside from the obvious. During a one-on-one interview with Khachan, we discussed the making of the film. Fighting a limited budget, Khachan took it upon himself to create a lot of the set and get as much filmed with the restrictions that New South Wales put in place. What was achieved was remarkable and when looking at the finished product, it’s hard to believe that a lot of was done in a small studio space after several trips to Bunnings. You can see this interview here.
The whole film was created from one image. A photograph of a Mongolian woman in a box. The photo in question was taken in July 1913 by French photographer Stéphane Passet who was hired by Albert Kahn. Albert Kahn was a millionaire banker who pioneered colour photography.
During a trip through exotic countries, they visited Mongolia where they took this photo of a woman who was condemned to a slow and painful starvation by being deposited in a remote desert inside a wooden crate that was to become her tomb.
The photographers had to leave her in the box because it would be against a prime directive of anthropologists to intervene in another culture’s law and order system.
First published in the 1922 issue of National Geographic under the caption “Mongolian prisoner in a box”, the image rocked the world. It was the publishers who made the claim the woman was condemned to die of starvation as punishment for adultery. While the authenticity of the photo is undisputed, there is expressed doubt over the reasons why the woman was being punished.
Using this image, Kevin Khachan began writing his own immurement story, which would become Box: Metaphor.
Like with his previous work, the film is visually spectacular. The use of location and colour have always been a draw card to his work. Khachan able to create an eerie, unsettling feeling among the audience with the beauty of the world around us. The cinematography by Jason Von Drayco is enhanced by a mesmerising score.
During our one-on-one before the film’s release, Khachan stated it was his best work to date. I must respectfully disagree. While I liked the concept behind the film, I didn’t feel the film has lived up to the hype that was set before it with his past work, Remnants and Red Rabbit Lodge.
The premise is dark, and there are certainly some moments throughout the film that will leave you feeling sick to your stomach. But rather than capitalizing on those moments, it felt like they were glossed over. The film comes across as a combination of Cube and Escape from Alcatraz but falls short of being spectacular. The trailer gives a lot of the story away, and some of the dialogue falls flat. But if I’m to be perfectly honest, to me, there wasn’t much of a story. I didn’t care for any of the characters. Normally, I feel for their ply and form some kind of connection to them. This time around, I legitimately didn’t care if any of them lived or died. Personally speaking, I found the entire film very lacklustre.
It doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie. It just means I didn’t enjoy it as much as I have done with Khachan’s previous work.
To say that Kevin Khachan is one of the most ambitious and visually distinctive filmmakers going around is an understatement. His artistic expression is something that sets him apart from a lot of indie filmmakers. While Box: Metaphor didn’t live up to my expectations, I know that it will find its target audience.
I will give a quick disclaimer; If you are not in a good headspace, avoid watching this movie. You need to be clear of negative, intrusive thoughts before sitting down to watch this as there are some moments, particularly a childbirth scene, that may affect some viewers.
I said it in my Remnants review – Kevin Khachan is a filmmaker to watch. His vision is unique. His ability to create an atmosphere that lingers long after the movie has finished is something to behold. No doubt, this isn’t the last we’ve heard of Kevin Khachan.
Rating 3/10
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