Swarms of Drifting Shadows, a film by Amir Ganjavie, is a compelling psychological thriller about a group of passengers struggling with mysterious memory loss following a plane crash.
Inspired by the events and investigation surrounding the Ukrainian passenger plane that was mistakenly shot down by Iranian forces almost three years ago, Swarms of Drifting Shadows is a fictional tale that creatively examines our responsibility to uphold memory and truth, particularly in the face of political pressure.
After their plane crashes in a field, a group of passengers find themselves struggling to recall the details of what happened. Their search for answers—and help—lead nowhere. Eerie fog descends around them, cell service is non-existent, and external threats including a three-headed dog force them to take shelter in an abandoned farmhouse.
As time passes, more and more passengers lose their memories entirely, forgetting their identities and slowly coming to resemble the walking dead. Only Caesar (Rick Amsbury), the protagonist, remains unaffected. From the moment he wakes after the crash, he is plagued by a voice in his head, that of a dead passenger. The voice urges him to recall the truth and tasks Caesar with keeping the passengers’ stories alive. Initially reluctant, Caesar finally accepts the job and breathes new life into the other passengers by reminding them of their past in the outside world.
Stuck in a purgatory world, the passengers rally around Caesar as he becomes the keeper of their memories. They worship him as a god, and Caesar succumbs to the corrupting influence of power, manipulating the passengers’ memories to suit his desires. Delaila (Beáte Imre) is the only passenger who escapes his control and regains her true memory, prompting her to find a way to challenge Caesar’s authority over the narrative.
Amsbury and Imre offer strong performances. Amsbury is expressive and has an offbeat charisma that nicely serves his character arc. Imre is natural and determined as Delaila, who becomes a more prominent character later in the film. Amsbury and Imre lack romantic chemistry, and their brief affair is somewhat abrupt in the story, making the encounter feel somewhat forced. It acts more as a narrative aside, and the film quickly moves on. However, the two actors have a great deal of platonic chemistry and it proves far more compelling, particularly as their character dynamics continue to shift and they ultimately engage in a power struggle.
The film has an interesting style that largely works well. Visually, the film has a desaturated look that lends itself well to the purgatory setting, the slow loss of memory, and the genre-bending nature of the film. The use of the white fog is a little inconsistent but overall helps create an eerie vibe. Black-and-white flashbacks of the passengers’ lives in the outside world provide a solid contrast and highlight the film’s themes around memory and narrative control. A sequence in which Caesar watches these black-and-white vignettes of his fellow passengers’ lives on an old TV is particularly effective and moving.
One element that detracts from the film is the voiceover narration. The tone of voice in particular is disjointed with what’s onscreen. The narration also seems excessive, given it’s framed as the voice of another passenger and the film already employs that technique with the voice in Caesar’s head. The film would be better served by simply using the voice in Caesar’s head, as it is more effective and plays an essential role in the story.
Directed by Ganjavie, Swarms of Drifting Shadows was written by Arash Azizi, Ganjavie, and Mehdi Shirzad. Overall, the film is a gripping psychological tale that uses creative storytelling techniques and mythical elements to tackle serious issues around memory, accountability, and truth.
Swarms of drifting shadows will be screened at Carlton Cinema on June 23. For ticketing please visit HERE.