Choirs, and tigers, and banks, oh my!

Euphoria is a part of this year’s Rising Festival, a relatively new arts festival which after a rocky first year has returned for a second time in the heart of Victoria’s capital. Euphoria is a music performance, an art installation, and a nearly two-hour film all rolled into one anti-capitalist work. The film features phenomenal acting from the likes of Giancarlo Esposito (who many will know from Breaking Bad fame), Cate Blanchett (who lends her voice to a disruptive animated tiger), as well as choral performances by the Brooklyn Youth choir who it may be noted are horrendously under-utilised throughout the show. When they do get a chance to sing though, the choir is both beautiful and haunting­­­­—a true highlight of Euphoria. The work itself is beautifully filmed too. The careful attention paid to every shot by director of photography Christopher Krauss is clear and commendable. The gorgeous architecture of the Melbourne Town Hall combining with huge wall-covering screens to create an overwhelming spectacle—a true visual marvel.

Directed by Julian Rosefeldt, the show is in essence a dissection of capitalism, depicting surreal scenes of everyday people (and yes, the Cate Blanchett tiger) quoting various philosophies on money. A group of homeless men discuss the ethics of individualism and greed. A couple of minimum-wage postal workers complain about patriarchy. A group of joint-smoking delinquents get dangerously close to pitching communism as an ideal. The tiger even quotes Karl Marx. It’s a farrago (I had to) of lofty ideas and opinions on a lofty concept, an ambitious script that unfortunately begins to feel grinding given the length of the film. The show could best be described as what I imagine a university philosophy lecture to be–sure it’s interesting but you’re still going to zone out after about an hour of abstract discussions of academic theory and you’re probably not gonna have any life changing revelations once you’ve left the classroom.

Another disappointing aspect of the film is its inherent American-ness. The work has been co-commissioned by Rising itself and with the help of Blanchett’s Hollywood name is one of the biggest advertising draw cards for the Melbourne-based festival. However the work is set in New York City, every actor speaks with an American accent, and even beloved Australian Blanchett performs with an American twang for her hometown crowd. While I acknowledge America is known for its excessive consumerism, I can’t help but feel slightly disappointed that for a festival that aims to “reflect and reckon with Australian identity, here and now” (their website’s words, not mine), Rising has presented a work so culturally removed.

It’s also worth mentioning that the work itself can feel a tad hypocritical at times. Even with a pay-as-you-feel model, audience members are still paying upwards of $20 for a ticket to a show that then preaches to them how money is the root of all evil. It also feels like a poor choice to have 1% superstar Cate Blanchett mocking oat-latte coffee drinkers, even if she’s hidden behind CGI.

Ultimately though, it can’t be denied that Euphoria is a beautifully crafted work. Sure, it’s probably not going to start a revolution anytime soon but I still enjoyed being drawn into the meandering conversations of its characters and listening to its musical offerings. Its attempts to undermine capitalist ideology is certainly admirable but in the end, I just cannot shake the feeling that it can’t put its money where its mouth is.

You can catch Euphoria as part of RISING Festival until 18 June.

Display photo by Eugene Hyland