A Look at Joseph Douglas Elmhirst's Visual Poem, "Burnt Milk"
Burnt Milk is a visual interpretation of Miss Ronnie's debut novel named after the common Caribbean dessert made by boiling condensed milk until it’s caramelized. In the film, this dessert is one of the few comforts afforded to Una, an alienated and isolated Jamaican midwife living in the United Kingdom.
The crux of the film is centered around Una’s monologue, written by Miss Ronnie and performed by actress Tamara Lawrance. In line with Joseph’s previous films Mada and Like A Baptism, the protagonist Una is caught in a cycle beyond her control, and so much bigger than her. Joseph talks about his interest in “people who are trying to escape the world around them or break cycles, and the different portals they use to do that." She longs to return back to Jamaica.
Una is an embodiment of Jamaica’s strange relationship to time. Joseph envisions her being able to “almost stop time, and fall into timelessness, through these hallucinations and daydreams, and petit mal." Una’s visions are rendered in stark black and white imagery, invoking the magical allure of her homeland. Joseph explains that "I think Jamaica is a place of really strong contrasts. I wanted to mirror that by draining it of the saturated colors it's often visually synonomous with."
The ten minute short premiered on May 19th and will be on display at the British Pavilion until September. Watch the trailer below.
