PABLO FERNANDEZ'S HOLLYWOOD

There is a feeling we might all be familiar with, one of being cast adrift in a more-than-slightly unreal world which is, for all intents and purposes, modeled on our recognizable one but bereft of the tactile and aural familiarity one might reasonably expect when moving around in this flattened-out version of reality. It’s this abstraction of feeling that filmmaker Pablo Fernandez brings to the forefront of his little gem of animation entitled, provocatively, Hollywood. It’s a particularly fascinating piece in terms of its use of sound, which recalls the disaffected, roiling-just-under-the-surface work of the late Alan Splet in Eraserhead and Blue Velvet. (The setting also purposefully accesses Lynch’s Lost Highway. And what Kubrick movie does that bear remind you of?)

Thanks to The Mysterious Adrian Betamax for the viewing tip about Hollywood, which features appropriately eerie voices supplied by Paul Anthony Reilly, a friend of about 16 years who I hope someday finds a welcoming and sustainable path into the world of voiceover work. Projects like Hollywood suggest good things to come for both he and Pablo Fernandez, and a lot of fun for the rest of us who get to watch and listen to what they come up with next.