by Ben Coleman
![film-woodshock.jpg]()
A poem isn’t a poem just because it rhymes, right? I’m not a poetry guy, but I feel like I learned that in school. A poem is a poem because the words used—and the words omitted—create an aesthetic and emotional quality beyond the words themselves. That’s a thought I kept coming back to while watching Woodshock, because (1) the movie is very slow, but also (2) because the writer/directors—Kate and Laura Mulleavy, who also happen to be fashion designers—attempt to trade in a sort of cinematic poetry, omitting large chunks of traditional narrative in exchange for protracted aesthetic beats. It doesn’t really work, but it’s an interesting, occasionally arresting attempt.