Eyeballs
2022 · 29m · USA
Directed by Cooper Herzog Olson
Genres: drama, experimental
Tones: contemplative, melancholic, surreal
A young man with vision problems wanders a small beach town, contending with caustic friends and a bizarrely ominous presence, his search for clarity both literal and existential. A stream-of-consciousness DIY tone poem about learning to see — and the risks of seeing too much.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
A 29-minute DIY tone poem about seeing too much, where the form enacts the content. Named 'Eyeballs.' Exactly the kind of thing that sounds like nothing until it isn't.
Cooper Herzog Olson's stream-of-consciousness DIY tone poem on learning to see is exactly the experimental register the format exists for — modest scale, perceptual ambition.
The film's structure mirrors its subject's failing eyesight — associative, drifting, refusing narrative focus in a way that feels deliberate. At 29 minutes that's a serious commitment to a vibe and I want to see if it sustains.