hi. i've got a tape i want to play.

this feels like magic precisely because there is no magic - the magicians stand open and vulnerable, without curtains or hiding places, looking tiny among the platforms and instruments and construction flotsam in the background. the trick is that there is no trick. there's something very powerful about seeing these big interesting shadows moving across the back wall, then realizing they're made by a dude just walking around with a spotlight. byrne even takes the suit jacket off at the end to show his pants stuffed around the waist to hold them up. it's endearing and lovely but also hilarious in this 'yes, it's really that simple, you could have done this yourself, but we thought of it first' sort of way. it's all a perfect compliment to the music, the visuals enhancing the experience without becoming overwhelming.

strange to watch in a still & silent theater, but i always watch sort of awestruck anyhow. the only thing i can't stand about this movie is that it's impossible to see everything going on onstage at all times, and it kills me knowing there is always something happening outside the frame, just out of reach.

the best.