Friday 16 July 2010

The Drift (2007) by Kelly Sears



Judging by her website, Texas-based animator Kelly Sears spends much of her time foraging (great word, that) for materials in boxes of photos at antique markets. The Drift is a moving collage accompanied by a monologue. By combining old photographs of American life, Sears tells the story of an alternate-history space race and hippy counter-culture in which a group of astronauts go too far and in true 2001 style end up discovering something alluring, dangerous and awesome in the true sense of the word.


The film does an excellent job of summing up the story of an entire generation's hopes, dreams and downfall - the technology worship and optimism of the fifties followed by the tragedy and disillusion of the Vietnam War and the Cold War. It's a powerful exploration of America in the mid-twentieth century, like Alan Moore's Watchmen or the recent game Fallout 3.