Isaac Julien: Western Union: Small Boats October 26, 2007

when: Fri 10.26 - Sat 11.17 (open Tue-Sat: 10am-6pm)
where: Metro Pictures (519 W 24th St, 212.206.7100)
price: FREE

Experimental filmmaker Isaac Julien is known both for his eerie, meditative explorations of the postcolonial condition and for his lucid, confrontational documentaries. Julien shifts cannily through this duality, oscillating between observation and polemic, tackling philosophical questions and social crises through montage, sound collage, and choreography. His new installation, Western Union: Small Boats, triumphantly completes his recent trilogy of cross-cultural cinematic travelogues. Ruminating on the deadly traffic of African immigrants to Europe across the dangerous and beautiful Mediterranean Sea, Julien's film provokes sympathy and outrage — even as it lulls with the quiet splendor of its imagery.