Ace artists Sean Lew and Kaycee Rice were recently seen in II: An Unspoken Narrative, an hour-long film that solely used dance, music and written words to weave a cinematic story around Lew's own journey as an artist.
Given that the film was produced, directed, written, edited, colored and choreographed by Sean Lew, it would be fair to say that Lew had a significant imprint on every major aspect of this work. The film was a departure from traditional films as it presented a series of connected and relatable human experiences in various settings using dance "as a lead language," as aptly described by Lew.
II, the film, was undoubtedly the strongest, and the most brilliant and unique, whenever #KayceeRice and #SeanLew came together on screen. Watching them, one could easily believe that dance can talk.
Lew's work had an interesting theatrical feel, akin to a thoughtfully designed dance play, and was presented in eight scenes.
In terms of both storytelling and dance, the second and last scenes happened to be downright outstanding. In the second scene, we saw an emergence from, as well as a giving in, to fear; with Kaycee and Sean eventually rendering themselves anonymous as they stop dancing, walk away from a lighted space into a darker hall in which people seem to be going about their ordinary lives- while walking endlessly in a hall; their bodies and faces largely shrouded in darkness. The scene was a really deep, and amazingly executed statement on what it must feel like to give up on a gift like dance.
In the last scene, titled War & Peace, we were shown a number of 'ordinary' couples sitting in a Buddha park who ultimately break into dance. This was undoubtedly one of the most incredible group performances within the film; in a setting that was clearly chosen with great thought.
Just as beautiful, inspiring and revelatory one liners led the protagonist, Sean Lew, forward throughout the film, artists too felt invited to move forward on their own unique paths.
It was perhaps this message, as well as the impactful use of dance, that will make II a film to remember.