Retelling Homer’s Odyssey would pose an intimidating challenge given double the 75 minutes taken by Paper Cinema, a five-piece who like to use violins, guitars and inked illusions, not to mention power drills, pea-filled drum pans and crunching gravel.
Yet their throwback take on classicism – two figures, their backs turned to us, move cut-outs and cartoonish depictions in front of a projector – is instantly charming, repeatedly funny and subtly affecting.
Silent cinema is certainly at play here, as well as live art at the start, when lines and clouds of paint impose a sense of wonder which never fades.
The tricks seem like child’s play – moving cuts closer or further away to create atmosphere and movement, or plunging the screen into darkness via a hand.
But the synchronisation of live storyboard and beautiful music is as entrancing and elusive as the perfect magic trick, executed to tell an immortal tale replete with owl-eyed metaphors and wine-drinking wolves.
Dab hands with samplers, cutlery and anything else they can turn their hands to, these multi-instrumentalists are only here for three performances as part of Brighton Digital Festival. This poetry in motion is short but sweet.
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