The Frown's video for their song The National. Is the best video I have seen since... ever.

This video ticks all my boxes. A good song, disturbing imagery, great post production, a visceral touch, a connection with the artist so close you feel like you are being damaged by them. I could/can/will leave out any opinion on the song. This video is an art piece that needs no music it tells its story and punishes you for watching. 

We start out watching a woman who is seemingly in some sort of womb who then mouths, inaccurately, the words to the song and is given birth to by a steam punk muscle bound winged bird man (descriptive much?). This birdman character reminds me of Vincent D'Onofrio's role in the film The Cell, tortured but somehow the character withholding power.

Her birth at the head of a dinner table surrounded by the beautiful strangelings of this world, all of whom are under the control of our Anti-Heroine. She proceeds to jerk, sway and abuse them with her hands and her mind. The malice in her intent is displayed very rarely but that rarity gives it that much more power. She seems to feel the need to punish these characters, to humiliate them. Perhaps her birth as a fully formed human is a distraction, she is a twisted spoilt child who has been given the strength of an adult, which echoes to The Twilight Zones' "Its a good life"

Where she was once protected by her "birth giver" she is now flanked by two large men who's bloodied mouths hint at the coming nightmare in the story we are being told. 

Our guests are force-fed a maggoty feast and ... I'll leave the rest to you.

Its fantastic, brilliant, genius.

Kudos must go to:

Magic Factory 

The Frown 

and

MK for the MVP project.

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