Movie spotlight
Heavenly Desire
In 1879 Wild West California, prostitute Mary Lou and her friend Rosebud are accidentally gunned down after witnessing the death of Mary Lou's dim-witted lover Ralph. 100 years later, the Devil recruits the limbo-state souls of Mary Lou and Rosebud to return to their brothel, now a Los Angeles college sorority, to try to bring two newcomers to the place, Ellen and Sue, to make them lose their virginity to their boyfriends in order for them to gain access into swinging Hell.
Insights
Plot Summary
Kenneth Anger's "Heavenly Desire" is a brief, visually striking experimental film that delves into themes of myth, sexuality, and the occult. It employs symbolic imagery and montage to create a dreamlike and often unsettling atmosphere, exploring desire and spiritual transcendence through a unique cinematic language. The film offers a glimpse into Anger's personal mythology and his fascination with forbidden subjects.
Critical Reception
As an experimental short film by a counter-culture icon, "Heavenly Desire" was not widely reviewed in mainstream publications. Its reception is largely confined to circles interested in avant-garde cinema, art criticism, and Kenneth Anger's oeuvre. It is appreciated for its bold visual style and its contribution to the experimental film tradition, though its abstract nature can be challenging for general audiences.
What Reviewers Say
Visually rich and symbolically dense, typical of Anger's style.
A challenging but rewarding experience for fans of experimental cinema.
Explores themes of desire and spirituality through avant-garde techniques.
Google audience: Information on specific Google user reviews for this short experimental film is not readily available.
Fun Fact
Kenneth Anger often used found footage and recontextualized existing imagery in his films, making it difficult to attribute specific actors or crew in the traditional sense for many of his works.
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