Relationships are complicated. Sometimes you find yourself in one which is oppressive and downright abusive. Such relationships take their toll on the victim, stifling their life and haunting them even in their dreams. The victim feels that she is confined in a prison and denied her freedom to live a life of her choosing. She feels dehumanized and loses all sense of self-esteem. But there will soon be a point when she cannot take anymore. The animal inside her wakes up and decides to take charge of her life. And as the tormentor continues to toy with his victim, he does not realize that retaliation is not far away. He must be prepared to pay the ultimate price when the time comes.
‘Wild red/bloody alpaca’ is an experimental film by director Nima Valibeigi. Nima presents a surreal treatment of a relationship that is dominated by abuse. The symbolic imagery used throughout the film keeps the mind shackled to the narrative as much as it does with the senses. The camera angles, the set dressings and the costumes give the film a fine degree of visual sophistication which further underlines the contrast with the baser emotions being dealt with in the narrative. The sequences victim’s dreams of regular life that appear throughout the film help one understand the simple longings of a mind that wants nothing more than freedom from this abusive relationship.
‘Wild red/bloody alpaca’ is a wakeup call for a society that chooses to ignore abuse. It is a statement of how abuse in a relationship can destroy much more than the relationship itself.
