SOLA, is a film about isolation.
Sola is a film about finding solace in solitude. Sometimes being alone feels like everyone in the world just disappeared. For Sola everyone actually did. Sola has spent years by herself with only a tape recorder to talk to. Follow Sola on her inward journey overcoming co-dependency and generational trauma.
EXPLANATION
The film is a character study and there's a lot of exposition. She records her voice onto tapes and plays them back and has conversations with the tapes.
But the tapes are also memories she is reliving. Because she is co-dependent. The thought was that if the world disappeared the most interesting arc would be someone codependent because they need to be needed. Having nobody to enable their dysfunctions would be extra hard for them to deal with. So if they were alone they might start by having normal conversations about their day, but it would probably not hit as hard as their most traumatic memories. Because those were the times that most enabled them or drove them and made them feel connected.
There was an essay by Ralph Waldo Emerson called Solitude and society where he says “Solitude is impracticable, and society fatal.” Meaning that "You're damned if you do, damned if you don't" when it comes to being alone or being social. People destroy us, but we need people.
And I think that's the core of the story. Sola is isolated and dwelling on her past memories of her relationships. She both wanted to leave these destructive people and be on her own, but now that she's on her own she needs these people, and the film is her journey to understanding how to be okay with herself, her past, and life by herself.
The main symbol of the film is boxes. Sola is always framed inside boxes when she is emotionally trapped. When she is trying to convince herself not to go exploring by using her taped memories, she's usually in a box. She's always trying to escape doorways and boxes when the co-dependent people from her past trap her with guilt or the feelings that make her feel needed. Even the tape recorder itself is a box that traps her in her isolation. We paid close attention to when people would be inside the box with her and when they would be outside or pulling her back in or chasing her out. Color was also important.
The Chemistry Read
Here you can view the blocking and coverage scheme designs
The Visual theme is that SOLA is always in a box. In the same way that Bong Joon Ho used stairs in Parasite to show differences in class, I am using boxes to show Sola’s Isolation. So when she is emotionally trying to isolate herself with her subconscious fears we see her in a box. When she talks to her memories they come inside her box. She spends the film trying to break out of her box. The Tape recorder itself is a box. The tapes are boxes. If everyone in your life was co-dependently abusive, and you were able to realize that. You would fear starting new relationships because they would potentially be destructive. So we demonstrate this journey visually with the coverage through her compositional relationships within the frame.
