Reel Hub: When the Wind Whispers Nothing

The movie is the result of a serious, artistic approach to film. Early in production, the directors (Peter Galison and Robb Moss) decided to talk only to people caught in the world of secrecy, wanting them to tell the secret story for themselves. This meant forgoing a narrator and the easy consistency of tone that comes with a singular, all-knowing voice and a strict chronological approach. Instead, the directors relied on other elements of film to unify the movie.

The emotive score was the subject of some debate at the screening last night, but that was largely a sign of its success. Robb Moss referred to the occasional absence of music as functioning like negative space in a painting. He also talked about the "five elements" that composed the film, and the way elements are manipulated to affect the viewers. In a sense, he offered a filmmaker's version of Stravinsky's observation that strict musical forms are often the most liberating because they allow composers to invent within limits.

Because of its limited distribution and subject matter, Secrecy maintains a sense of "eventness" more common to art exhibitions than to films. It's not an undeserved comparison. And while most people will watch the movie for its political claims, remarking at its surprising level of even-handedness, it's also easy to appreciate for the level of thought that went into the filmmaking. Not all of the choices work (the animation can be particularly overbearing), but the final result is certainly an accomplishment.