Bonanza

Just as last year, Summerhall is keen to push film within its multi-arts programme. BERLIN have submitted a mystical and often beguiling piece of cinematic art but it’s hard to really position Bonanza within the context of performance – and it struggles to rise above straightforward intrigue. It’s centred on a small US mining town in the rocky Midwest, once a packed dancehall site but today desolate and deserted. Now, only seven residents remain.

Split across five large screens that span the width of the stage and mounted by a massive oilskin model of the town, the entire feel of this piece recalls A Town Called Panic. As various parts of the town are visited, the stage lights strobe down onto sections of the model: this creates a gorgeous live narrative but doesn’t in any way augment the story. The screens allow for a chopped up film, some projecting talking heads of the town’s citizens while others depict calm lonely landscapes unspoiled by traffic and human bustle.

It’s tough to see why this couldn’t have just taken place in a regular cinema however. It isn’t immersive but it’s not lifeless either. The townspeople address their own internal spirituality, amplified by their ability to relax and fully reflect – in a sense to meditate. This output matches the nature of BERLIN’s documentary: peaceful, probing and positive. The town is barren but not in the same way heavy-industry spots such as Detroit have hit a downward spiral in the last few decades; instead this is more restful, earthy and framed.