Memento Mori

The subtitle reads 'from the world of photographer Roger Ballen'. Ballen, who collaborated on the film as a creative consultant, is known from his perplexing, gloomy black-and-white portraits of marginalised South Africans, black and white. Cameraman Melle van Essen follows in Ballen's footsteps with living pictures: images with fixed frames, contrasty black-and-white and strong emphasis on the composition. Movements are generally minimal and repetitive. The unusual square format is yet another limitation of the world of the feeble-minded people portrayed, who live between bare walls and floors, with blankets that are too short and clothes that are scarce.