Written by Andie Kaiser
Maria Servellon works to uncover the existential within the everyday through Phantasma, which follows a woman named Ava over the course of a single day. Calling in sick from work, Ava wanders around her city, presumably looking for the source of a ringing sound she’d heard that morning. While she walks across the streets and beaches she calls home, viewers get the sense that she’s unsatisfied with something, and that her search might be for more than a simple sound.
For the most part, the film maintains a very natural tone. As we see Ava walk from place to place, taking part in everyday activities like waiting at the bus stop, it feels almost like a documentary. But when other characters enter the picture, the viewer (and Ava) are reminded of all the other things going on around her. This includes the woman Ava speaks to while at the bus stop, who tries to console her worries by telling her that there will always be another bus to catch. Once again, we feel the weight of these words, which seem to hint at something deeper than a simple bus trip.
All throughout Ava’s journey, she finds herself connecting with people that she might otherwise never have engaged with. Though apprehensive, she seems to connect with the way these strangers might also be feeling left behind.
At the end of the film, Ava returns home. She pulls out a notepad and a pen, and sits facing the camera, as though imploring the audience to listen to what she has to say. It’s a reminder, too, that the inspiration to create stories can be found in even the most “ordinary” of places–if one only has the courage to engage.
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Photos: Filmotomy
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