Jáaji Approx.

In "Jáaji Approx.," the latest film from artist Ryan Redbird, we find ourselves embarking on a poignant and deeply personal journey, one that navigates the realm of family, culture, and the enduring power of oral tradition. The film is a thoughtful exploration of the intricate bond between Redbird and his late father, a connection forged through the shared experience of traversing the vast and majestic landscapes of the Ho-Chunk people's ancestral lands. The narrative unfolds in a manner that is both elegiac and meditative, as the camera pans over the rolling hills, verdant forests, and serene lakes that Redbird's father once walked. Through the careful manipulation of image and sound, Redbird distills the essence of his father's presence, conjuring a sense of presence that feels both deeply authentic and profoundly melancholic. A key aspect of the film's impact lies in its innovative use of language. As the title "Jáaji Approx." suggests, the work is deeply rooted in the Ho-Chunk tongue, a language that has been an integral part of Redbird's cultural heritage since birth. In a bold and ambitious move, Redbird has chosen to transcribe his father's voice using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), a system specifically designed to represent the sounds of spoken languages in a standardized manner. By choosing this approach, Redbird effectively erases the boundaries between recorded and live sound, collapsing the distinction between the past and the present, memory and experience. The result is a sonic tapestry that is at once delicate and powerful, capable of evoking a wide range of emotions in the viewer. As the audio of his father's voice is woven through the film's narrative, we find ourselves drawn into a world of intimate and deeply personal recollections, one that is both deeply rooted in the past and strangely, hauntingly, of the moment. Through this innovative use of language, Redbird achieves a degree of temporal and spatial convergence that is nothing short of breathtaking. The boundaries between past, present, and future begin to blur, as the viewer is immersed in a world that is simultaneously timeless and deeply of the moment. In this way, "Jáaji Approx." comes to represent a powerful meditation on the nature of memory and experience, one that underscores the enduring power of oral tradition to shape our understanding of the world around us. The film's landscape shots, meanwhile, serve as a kind of counterpoint to the audio, providing a visual framework that underscores the sense of distance and spatiality that is so central to the narrative. The camera pans over rolling hills, capturing the play of light and shadow across the land, while in the distance, the glint of water or the silhouette of a standing tree serves as a reminder of the vast expanse of the land that Redbird's father once traversed. In a sense, these images can be seen as a kind of "before" or "background" to the main narrative, a visual accompaniment to the audio that serves to underscore the sense of historical and cultural context that is so central to the film. At the same time, however, these images are also deeply implicated in the narrative itself, serving as a kind of reminder of the deep connections that exist between the land, the people, and the stories that are passed down through generations. Ultimately, "Jáaji Approx." is a film that rewards close attention and contemplation, one that encourages the viewer to slow down, to listen carefully, and to reflect on the nature of memory, experience, and culture. Through its innovative use of language and its stunning visual landscapes, Redbird has created a work that is at once deeply personal and profoundly universal, a meditation on the enduring power of oral tradition to shape our understanding of the world around us.