8:37 Rebirth
Somewhere within the spiraling variables of guilt, revenge and redemption mathematician Sergei (Ebrahimi) has spent his life trying to reformulate, the survivor of violence and grad school has become lost within the maze of thought he has built for himself – and he has taken the movie he stars in with him. Seeking a new vector into a story of everyday violence and the effect it has on everyone involved – victim and aggressor alike – co-writer and director Juanita Peters’ focus on external stimuli to work through trauma, be it math or art, is interesting in the abstract but threatens to pull focus from the human beings using them. As Sergei falls further and further into conspiracy and anger the focus shifts from him to his walls full of figures and figurines, revealing the film to be just a phantasm, a quirk of the intellect.
Perhaps it’s the way Peters tells the story, fragmenting the narrative like one of Sergei’s notebooks. He comes to us initially as a loving family man, working on his breakthroughs and trying to teach his precocious son with only hints at what a phone call announcing the release of convicted murderer Jared (Gould) means to him. Peters teases out the revelations behind Sergei’s trauma through fractured flashbacks and subplots around Jared’s own release and attempt to assimilate into a society he hasn’t been a part of in decades. Like Aronofsky’s Pi, math becomes a language of madness rather than cold fact but Sergei isn’t a Max Cohen like truth seeker falling prey to the inner recess of his mind as the core element of his story. It’s a dodge he has built for himself to avoid truth and in that decision lies all the difference as Peters gives few details on either his pain or his delusion until very late.
Instead she reframes, counterpointing Sergei’s algorithm fueled delusion with Jared’s discovery of his inner artist and the freedom from shame or judgment that comes with that. The reductionism of art versus science aside there is real possibility in the contrast to the way they embrace their guilt and distance from society, the different paths their lives have taken and the ways they may escape from their pain. Left to that level of spare focus Rebirth is as good as its name and the inherent drama in it is revelatory. But it’s also piecemeal. More is piled on top of more is piled on top of more and all further and further to the periphery of Sergei and Jared. Even as they struggle with their painful connection they are further encumbered by parole officer John (Owen) who connects the two of them but also has his own internal demons of jealousy and pride to fight against. It becomes a cornucopia of guilt and remorse and pain and violence that pulls focus further away from its scintillating core.
Maybe it was unclear what else could be done with Sergei and Jared apart from their inevitable confrontation. Maybe the lure of melodrama and confusion was too strong, overcoming the pileup of emotions and relationships such a spare story doesn’t need. It would be interesting to see it approached again with the needless parts stripped away and only the center left behind to stand on its own. As it is, it’s all too much; like Sergei, Rebirth is full of good ideas to frequently falls into madness.
8:37 REBIRTH RATING: 6.5/10
8:37 Rebirth was directed by Juanita Peters and Stars Glen Gould, Pasha Ebrahimi, Mark A. Owen and Amy Trefry.