ANIMA: A VISUAL TRIP

BY: Georgia Davis

More and more big name directors are taking their skills to Netflix to flex their creative muscles. On June 27, that list will get longer with the debut of Paul Thomas Anderson’s short film Anima.

The teaser trailer for the visual and sonic film suggests it’s only going to be 10 to 12 minutes long. It features the music of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, who will release an album of the same name on the same day. Netflix has described the musical short as having “mind-bending visuals” and that it’s “best played loud.” And for those wondering what “anima” means, it’s the part of your mind that works automatically. Some psychologists believe that’s the part of the mind that accesses our fears, habits and dreams. So, in short, expect a visual mind trip.

The teaser gives people a taste of the music. It is very much in the electronic realm and plays more into the sounds being produced the lyrical value. With that in mind, it’s going be a treat to see There Will Be Blood director Anderson turn the sounds into visuals.

Anderson and Yorke have worked together before. Anderson directed three Radiohead projects, including the video for “Daydreaming.”

Yorke is no stranger to the film world. Last year, he produced the soundtrack to Luca Guardagnino’s Suspiria remake starring Tilda Swinton, Dakota Johnson and Chloë Grace Moretz. The soundtrack exemplifies the horror of the movie. Anima marks the first project since Aderson’s Oscar-nominated Phantom Thread starring Daniel Day-Lewis.

Anima will show in select theaters on June 26 for those who want to experience the music on a grade-A sound system. That is an initiative Netflix has used more in the last year. The streaming giant has ditched the subscription-only methodology in favor for limited releases around the country of its biggest hits. The first was Alfonso Cuarón’s materpiece Roma, which won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Perhaps releasing Anima in theaters will bolster Netflix’s chance of another Oscar nomination.