The Fourth Dimension (2001)
This is an elegant meditation on time, travel, and ceremony in the form of a journey. In her first foray into digital video, Trinh T. Minh-ha deconstructs the role of ritual in mediating between the past and the present.
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"Fourth Dimension", based on the economic boom in Japan, had a surreal, metaphysical feel about it. Again narrated with the same poetic zeal like "Reassemblage", "Fourth Dimension" deals with the tradition/modern, global/local binary as reflected in Japan's celebration of its culture, and yet be caught in the whirlwind of globalization. Culture had almost become another commodity to be consumed and "visited" (like local theaters and bars, or replete with multilingual translations for visitors). The film explains this dichotomy with moments like the paper lanterns sponsored by Coca Cola in the traditional march. Minh-ha is at her best while using the metaphor of Japan's bullet trains to relate them to the industrial-mechanical Japanese life. I am highly influenced and affected by Minh-ha's style of film-making. It's difficult not to be judgmental about people/events/ideas you deal with in your film. But Minh-ha, by putting herself as an active agent in her films, makes sure that the viewer, before involving him/herself with the narrative, goes through her. It's indulgent, subjective and yet so profound.