A man lays comatose while a nurse tends to him. The color image - pocked with film specks - gives way to stark, high contrast black and white cinematography. The man regains consciousness, with no memory of who he is or what happened to him, and is soon named "John Doe." He begins a new life, taking a wife, but is plagued by visions which may or may not be flashbacks of his past. Is he remembering a violent incident which led to his mysterious predicament, or is he merely imaging what might have been? It's an important question becuse "John" soon embarks on a violent path of revenge.

When was the last time you saw a film that truly made you think about what you were seeing on the screen? If the answer is DISTRICT 9, you're proving my point that we've all been so desensitized by Holllywood's bombastic entertainments that when a halfway intelligent film like D9 comes along (and it wasn't even a Hollywood production), people fall all over themselves heaping praise on it for doing what films should aspire to achieve at a minimum.

In general, filmmaking is a craft. It only becomes art when the filmmaker has a purely personal vision and he won't let anything get in the way of his conveying that vision. Occasionaly, assembly line productions do rise above the muck and shine, reminding us that it's possible for Hollywood to make a good movie. But for the most part, it's the indies who have show the brass and smash down our preconceptions with original ideas and presentation.

BURNING INSIDE, written and directed by Nathan Wrann, is an experimental film, but I don't want that term to frighten you off because there is a very clear narrative thread to follow. Wrann favors long takes and a minimalist yet disturbing aural palette, ala David Lynch's ERASERHEAD. In fact, Wrann's style of filmmaking reminds me a lot of David Lynch's, not for its weirdness, but in the way it stretches scenes and moments out to almost unbearable length - and yet I could not stop watching. I was also reminded of Kubrick's direction in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY because of the expert framing and the importance of the deliberate pace. There is an awareness of filmmaking as a storytelling medium at work here that you will not find in a multiplex, and I admired the way Wrann manages to elicit emotion despite a pervasive, cold detachment in his film. Viewers may also note mild similarities to MOMENTO and Lodge Kerrigan's CLEAN, SHAVEN, but BURNING INSIDE is a wholly original and daring piece of cinema. At two hours, it requires patience and commitment from viewers, but I suspect there is an audience hungry for such a remarbable film. It's rare that acting, cinematography and editing work in such perfect harmony to create something this unique.

I was particularly struck by a sequence in which John (played by Michael Wrann, who manages to be very appealing in a tough role) stands before a movie screen, watching (maybe) home movies of his past life. We see John from behind, the flickering images - which have shifted to washed out color - playing over his back as he watches his life before his eyes, in essene, becoming a part of the film that he and the audience see unfolding. The home movie itself is very long, and because we know we're about to be on the receiving end of the revelations behind John's situation, the pleasant memories become that much more painful to watch, the climax encroahing on LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT territory. All of the murders in BURNING INSIDE pack a punch, but they are constructed with artistry and never become exploitation.

James Felix McKenney, a regular figure here on Fear Zone, and his producing partner, Lisa Wisely, have acquired distribution for BURNING INSIDE through their new DVD label, Channel Midnight; it should be available in the spring. This is definitely a film worth seeking out, just don't expect something you can watch with your friends and a six pack as part of a Friday night double feature; it isn't a low budget slasher/monster flick, but a surreal trip through one man's bent mind. You can check out the trailer and read more about the filmmaker at www.burning-inside.net. Highly recommended to lovers of smart films.