Lightning

Micro versus macro, man versus the cosmos, mind versus emotions. In Manuela Morgaine’s essay, nothing stands in opposition and everything is one. All phenomena permeate each other thanks to the eponymous lightning, i.e. cosmic energy in constant motion. Morgaine divides her film into four parts for the four seasons and each references lightning in a different way. In Autumn, a storm hunter visits people who have been struck by lightning to reconstruct the event. The main theme of Winter is melancholia and treatment of depression with shock therapy. Spring is about an aphrodisiac called Kama that blooms only after lightning strikes and Summer brings together two people through a spark or atomic attraction. The entirety makes for a legend that draws on mythology, religion and literature. The director references the Canaanite god of thunder, Baal, Szymon Słupnik and Azore and Eglé – characters from Pierre de Marivaux’s comedy La Dispute. Manuela Morgaine’s Lightning is an erudite attempt to synthesize a 10 years search. It is a hypnotic trip, through which you can experience madness of cinema.