A Life Directionless

Jennifer Bauman delivers an important folk film with A Life Directionless.

We’ve all had good times and bad. And we’ve all felt that our lives are directionless. Most of the time it’s because we just don’t know which direction is the right one but sometimes it’s because we know, but the whole world seems to be going in another direction and we’re not compelled to follow.

At the beginning we don’t know why Jennifer is directionless but we feel it with all of our heart.

What Jennifer Bauman shows us is precisely what that inability to move forward looks like but it’s also a short and subtle protest about the high speed of pop culture which hits everyone like an out of control bus that keeps running over your attempt at clear headed thinking.

The brilliance of A Life Directionless is the pacing! A great film not only tells you a story but makes you feel something relatable. We can all relate to the pacing of not knowing where or what to do with the life we are given.

Choosing a direction is as simple as choosing between apples and oranges and Jennifer uses an apple and an orange at just the right moment to show how deep her sense of being lost really is.

Later in the film, at just the right moment, we get a clear understanding of what caused this lack of direction and it humanizes Jennifer’s character in such a way that has maximum impact—impact that would be lessened if the build up was a slick and fast paced narrative relying on quick cuts and an overuse of the camera to generate a false sense of action—to waste the audiences time with filler.

A new direction found in a dream.

There is no time wasted in A Life Directionless and watching this folk film will be worth your time. Feel lost. Feel directionless. Feel empowered by what Jennifer did here.

Also feel hope because there is a powerful juxtaposition at the end of the film that speaks loudly through its silence.

Watch the film by clicking below. Support Jennifer Bauman by subscribing to her YouTube channel.