A little later, two armed men force their way into a tram and shoot a boy in the head. Skyscrapers collapse. A rocket launcher rapidly fires one rocket after another. Its operator presses a button from his office, sipping coffee, never confronted with the suffering he causes. He hardly knows whom or what he destroys.
It quickly becomes clear that Cla’s circles sequence isn’t a formalistic game but a reflection on the incessant, repetitive flow of violence. This graduation film offers no explanations or solutions, but plenty of food for thought. What leads to more violence? Is it increasing individualisation? Maybe it’s because of new technological possibilities? Or the influence of violent video games?
The latter receives special attention in this film, depicted by CGI. The 3D animation, which Cla created himself, seems to come straight out of a video game. Like in a first-person shooter, we follow characters from behind—their faces always out of view—as they walk towards their goal. They move somewhat stiffly, their feet hovering just a little too long above the ground. This emphasises the visual, seemingly superfluous realisation that we’re not looking at reality, but at an image that represents said reality in a certain way. Cla focuses more on the construction of violence than on a realistic rendition.
As the end of the film approaches, the images become increasingly ambiguous. A mass of figures swarm around while rockets fly out of a rocket launcher. This cycle of violence mobilises the masses and drives them to madness. In their flight, they break through the dominant cycle that shapes Cyclepaths in both content and form. They shatter the familiar pattern and offer a glimpse of a hopeful future.
