Rant / Rave

Despite their titles, these two companion films are not angry screams from the stage. They're not about parties with ecstasy and bad music. Nor are they hip-hopped or poetry-slammed. If that's disappointing, these films are not for you. RANT consists of seven distinct small films, beginning with the 13th century Rumi poem “Only Breath,” which is set to a mesmerizing series of images of Earth taken from the Space Shuttle. RAVE transforms already beautiful words into cinematic and lyrical tableaux. For example, Cab Calloway makes an appearance in Langston Hughes' 1923 “The Weary Blues,” which is set against the backdrop of old Harlem and features the Roseland and Apollo Theaters. Many have attempted the melding of poetry, sound, and cinema, but RANT and RAVE are among the few successes.