More a symbol-laden tone poem than a conventional narrative, experimental filmmaker Frammartino's second feature contains no dialogue but does have single takes of up to 9 minutes. There is no lead role as such, although watching an ailing old goatherd trudge through his thankless chores for the first part might lead you to believe that this is the full story. Instead, we move to the trajectories of other characters: a new-born goat, a tree and ultimately the rugged Calabrian landscape itself, through the seasons. The 'four times' of the title refers to a local folk animist belief in the transmigration of souls through different states of matter and so the story moves, like the spirit by inference, from human through animal and plant to mineral.
This is not an easy film to watch, with its lack of exposition and protracted scenes where nothing scripted happens. Yet it is rewarding: the carefully framed landscapes and animate points of foreground focus are perused with an eye that demanded even more patience on the part of the filmmaker than it does from the viewer. It imposes a form of reeducation of senses and expectations, and is to be valued for that, even while never fully covering the remit it has set itself in terms of theme.
7/10
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