The only complaint I had after the three minutes of Sahil Khan’s first film, Graceful Agitation, came to a stop is wishing it were longer, but that was quickly remedied by looping it and watching it again and again. Right from the start, it asks for your complete surrender, and once you grant it that, it sucks you in and makes you forget all your worries, even if it is for a short time. Graceful Agitation is peace materialized, a trip from nowhere towards another nowhere; the chase is what matters. Very minimalistic, very abstract, and its lack of plot allows you to put your story in it and make it your own. It is a film that everybody can relate to, its universality is what makes it work so perfectly.
Its effect couldn’t have been so powerful were it not for its stunning visuals. The entire film feels like you’re driving through a city late at night while it lightly rains. It is hypnotic, dreamy, and surreal.
My favorite component, however, has to be the amazing synth soundtrack, which feels like a blend of the scores of A Clockwork Orange and Blade Runner. It is melancholic and hopeful, asking you to remember the sorrows and promising the best is yet to come. Graceful Agitation is a treat for the eyes, the ears and the heart. Although it is criminally short and leaves you wanting more, way more, it also makes you grateful for the three minutes of beautiful peace it offers you, and the hope that more of them may be coming your way.
More of Khan’s work, including Graceful Agitation, can be found here, on his YouTube channel. Currently, A Fistful of Film co-founder Akram Herrak writes for his personal blog, Exhuming Cinema, which can be found here.
A Fistful of Film 