MMXX is the Roman numeral for a year 2020 and it is a 2023 experimental motion picture by an Italian filmmaker Christian De Mattheis. The film is known for its complex narrative structures and striking visual elements. It is a geometric perspective of 2020; the most traumatic year, through a collage of archival videos, reenactments and graphic design to demonstrate the trauma of the pandemic, social struggles and deep uncertainty worldwide that the COVID-19 virus, within the context of protest and global turmoil and insecurity, created.
Plot Summary
MMXX does not stick to a linear plot but instead creates sequences of vignettes presenting different characters or people in different locations around the globe. As the development of the virus panic spread across the globe, the lead-in of the film captures situations of early 2020 where the news of the virus began making it to people’s ears. We begin by pandemic introductions of healthcare providers to family isolation and the radical changes that they had to undergo. Interwoven are scenes of important social and political events of the year such as agitations and volcanic eruptions all focusing on a central theme which is resilience in adversity.
De Mattheis also uses dream and surreal moments, which interpret the plight and trauma of peoples everywhere. These moments make the film come more alive, offering the viewer a physical semblance of how things were in 2020. The film in conclusion turns into a collage of the voices heard, each scene adding towards the collective image of the endurance and adaptability of the people.
Themes
MMXX is an expression of the human spirit through its depiction of loss, poverty, and the cohesion of mankind during turmoil. The filmmaker captures the alienation, the terror, and the tenacity that 2020 bore, explaining how different individuals from different confines battled similar demons of solitude and were still tied together by the common thread of what the circumstances were like. De Mattheis also expands the scope of the film, how people cope with uncertainty and how interrelationships in society degenerates and baptism of destruction strengthens them.
Style and Cinematography
MMXX anticipates its audience not only to participate but actually to feel the GOP’s combination of self-confident, cheerful text with grotesque and extremely emotional images. Documentary footage is seamlessly intertwined with hallucinations in style, which enhances the overall aesthetic appeal of the movie. Just as importantly, the year of the viewer’s purchase has a pace: it begins with the light of day, slowly increasing and letting out bright, vivid colors.
The edting of the film is disoriented. With quick cuts and montages it evokes the worst parts of 2020. De Mattheis is very efficient with sound – he incorporates news reports, background natural sounds and music in order to deepen the conflict of each scene.
Reception
MMXX had great reviews, as it emerged from the rest with fresh and engaging ideas. De Mattheis has manage to transfer the essence of 2020, as it is, and in an interactive way, which is in itself very artistic. It also deserves mention that the viewers thought there’re “the wretched of the earht”. So, dont’ start feeling strange as it was done artistically for sure. For those who are receptive enough even such works will be welcome, as anything strong and radically renewed always deserves ratification in some way or another.
Overall Impressions
MMXX definitely does not look for the middle ground. It’s an incomparable perspective over the entire year which entered the history with far more than delusions within. Its particularity is obvious, the same year’s events are presented through a documentary lens and artistic stylization which paradoxically articulates the disjointedness of the same year. For those who search for depth of ideas, rather than pleasing picture, MMXX proves to be a good film which absorbs the audience as a deep wave within a thunderstorm.
Recommended Audience
MMXX is meant for such viewers who love experimental cinema and entertaining artistic narratives and stories. The same emotions and thoughts will be present to all those ‘relevant’ to MMXX as those who like to see contemporary themes visually. It seems better for those who witnessed what the year 2020 looked like and are ready to look back at the events from a different point of view.
