Ribbons of Euphoria and specter of past
Film: Ribbons of Euphoria
Director: Nick Giannetto
Cast: Nick Giannetto, A.J. Cuelho, Isabella Montoya, Camryn Adele Portagallo, Ryan J. Leever, Micah P. Leever, Jesse C. Leever, Sally L. Scalia
Runtime: 25 minutes Genre: Neo-western, Drama
Ribbons of Euphoria is the directorial debut from filmmaker Nick Giannetto. Shot on 16mm film, this short film tells the story of two brothers living on a ranch they inherited from their late father in the peaceful and beautiful mountain town of Springville. Their idyllic lives are interrupted by the arrival of a young woman, and their bond as brothers is tested by a rising, dire need for love. Giannetto grew up in Porterville — just down the mountain from Springville. Ribbons of Euphoria marks the arrival of an exciting new talent, and it has already been submitted to numerous film festivals including Sundance (Utah), SXSW (Texas), and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Ribbons of Euphoria is an atmospheric and mature neo-western set in paradise, yet seeping with a sense of nostalgia-fueled melancholy, and a longing for recapturing love that has long been absent. The dichotomy of the beautiful landscape set against the internal struggles of the two brothers creates a unique mood throughout the film. Ribbons of Euphoria has a preoccupation with death; the story bookended with a focus on the end of life. The beginning and ending are both masterfully made, the camera roaming through the countryside as it also roams through the memories of the characters. These dream-like sequences transport the viewer into the subjective perspective of what the characters are thinking and feeling.
This is brought to life by the cinematography of Johnny David Biedenharn, and the editing of Anuj Jamadagni and Nick Giannetto. With their efforts combined, characters flash in and out of existence in the blink of an eye. It's difficult to discern what's real, and what's imagined or remembered, and that's all by design. This air of mystery permeates the entire film, and it's aided in large part by the sophisticated and celestial score from composer Jack Gillette. He worked closely with Giannetto on crafting
the music for the movie, even creating specific themes for various characters.
Ribbons of Euphoria focuses on the ethereal aspects of life, and stresses the importance of that which is absent or unseen. While the parents of the two brothers are never seen in the present timeline, their presence and influence envelops their existence, and exacerbates their inner turmoil. The parents, especially the mother, represent an important connection to their collective past, and possibly one that was happier and more peaceful. The two brothers at the center of this story are inseparable from each other and their parents. The specter of familial interconnectedness hangs over this movie like it does for all human beings.
The influence of family on one’s life is relevant to the making of this movie. This film’s creators come from a long lineage of farmers and stewards of the land. They were inspired by the arduous work of their families over the decades, and this story was inspired by their sacrifices and efforts. Ribbons of Euphoria was created through a convergence of influences that included family, while also being intertwined with various literary and cinematic inspirations. Biblical references are embedded in this film, with a particular focus on the ancient drama of Cain and Abel. Other literary influences include John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamozov, Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet, and Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles.
There were numerous cinematic influences on Ribbons of Euphoria as well. The visual poetry of Terrence Malick is immediately recognizable in the opening sequence of this movie, especially in terms of the groundbreaking cinematography from The Tree of Life. The immersive and atmospheric aura of Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name is also a professed influence of Giannetto’s filmmaking style. Same can be said for the raw authenticity of Jeremiah Zagar’s We the Animals. Even with these influences, Giannetto is stepping outside of the shadow of these masters of cinema. He takes their influences and crafts them into something unique in their own right, offering a glimpse into a creative mind that has so much more to say.
Nick Giannetto is not merely this film’s director. He also served as its writer, producer, editor, and one of its lead actors. He’s phenomenal as Luca, one of the two brothers in the story. Giannetto’s naturally easygoing nature is palpable in his performance. A.J. Cuelho is Charlie, the other brother, and he plays the character with an intense stoicism. He portrays Charlie as a person with something boiling just under the surface, waiting to explode at any moment. This film was shot on Cuelho’s father’s ranch, and his connection to the land and environment blends into the character of Charlie. Another acting highlight is Isabella Montoya as Eva. She amps up the mysteriousness of her character; the young woman that has arrived suddenly on the ranch and inadvertently upended the brothers’ lives and routine.
The origin of this film started from a desire for Giannetto and Cuelho to make a film together. Their connection as reallife friends adds authenticity to the unbreakable bond the brothers share in the film, and one that will never break despite the tension between them. Giannetto wanted to tell a story about brothers, and exhibit the complicated relationship one has with their family members. A deep love can be present between family members, while also leaving room for an immense amount of pain and suffering. As Giannetto continued down the creative path of making this movie, it became more apparent it was also about their mothers, and the fact children can still be unintentionally hurt by their parents despite their best intentions and efforts.
Ribbons of Euphoria is a short film that has a preoccupation with the past. It haunts the main characters in mostly enigmatic ways, and yet it also makes them who they are. The same can be said for all people, and this movie makes each individual ruminate on how their own past influences them. This focus on the past extends to the making of the film itself. Giannetto chose to shoot on 16mm film for numerous reasons. Like one his favorite film directors, Luca Guadagnino, he believes shooting on film forms a connection with the history of cinema.
When shooting on film, your resources are limited, and that forced the creative team behind this movie to be more selective and intentional about what and how they shot. This also helped to bring an energy to the performances, as the actors would not have unlimited takes like they might on a movie that was shot digitally. Giannetto believes the pauses to reload the film and the sound of the film camera while operating “create a production atmosphere that feels alive.” Indeed, Ribbons of Euphoria feels immensely full of life, and using 16mm to capture this story is a perfect melding of form and function. After all, film is a resource as finite as life itself. What you shoot on film, and what you do in life, matters specifically because there’s an impending end always on the horizon.
Giannetto’s vision for Ribbons of Euphoria is intertwined with all of his life experiences. While earning a psychology degree, he immersed himself in literature, philosophy, and spiritual wisdom. He infuses these experiences into this short film, aspiring to “excavate an archetypal resonance” and create a “narrative reliving into our collective past.” Giannetto’s goals are lofty in the best way possible, and his film invites viewers to rise to that elevated level. One of those goals is to “peel back the layers, exploring life’s purpose, meaning, and intricacies.” Giannetto says his directorial aspiration is to “dance a dance of the sacred trinity of spirituality, psychology, and art” and he seeks to delve “into the enigma of existence through the prism of narrative.”
Ribbons of Euphoria is remarkable for many reasons, one of which is it manages to exist as two things at once. It’s a phenomenal short film that transports the viewer into the lives of two brothers feeling the void of parental absence and navigating how that affects their own need for love. It’s also a proof of concept, with the eventual goal of expanding this story into a feature length movie. There’s precedence for this happening in the film industry, with Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket and Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash starting as short films before being remade as features. With Ribbons of Euphoria, the short film would serve as the first act of a three-act story. The plans for the feature’s story expands far beyond what’s shown in this short film, and while the details can’t be revealed, everything is already mapped out. Act 2 of the story will be titled Full of Daring and Act 3 will be A Rainbow Like You.
The title of Ribbons of Euphoria comes from a lyric from Jimi Hendrix’s song “Bold as Love.” The song also influenced some of the characters’ personalities and the film’s stylistic choices. One of these influences is on the use of colors tied to various emotions, and Giannetto assigns specific colors to the characters in his movie. He also sees Ribbons of Euphoria as a memorial to Hendrix, who died at the age of 27; the same age of Giannetto when he made this movie. Other Hendrix songs, including “Hey Joe” and “Foxy Lady” inspire other plot points in the feature film’s story.
Ribbons of Euphoria is a beautiful testament to the power and persistence of love, told through the prism of a complicated relationship with the past. The film itself is a labor of love made by Nick Giannetto and the rest of the filmmaking team. Their short film is a singular achievement, and a lovingly graceful tribute to the immense beauty of the reality that surrounds us. We’re inseparable from our environment. Indeed, we’re shaped by it in ways that are seen and unseen. Ribbons of Euphoria explores this space between the tangible and intangible, effectively creating a work of art that’s as mysterious and captivating as life itself.