“If you want to leave this world, contact me.”
Sometimes we are in a life situation so dark and painful we have to escape. Maybe through binge drinking, a drug overdose, a jump off a bridge, a self-inflicted gunshot, or a car crash. We could also just go crazy. Anything to mask the pain.
In “The Secret of Human Flight,” Ben (superbly played by Grant Rosenmeyer) is distraught by the sudden death of his beautiful, talented young wife. She was also his writing partner. She died 24 hours after an anaphylactic reaction. Ben tailspins. In a catatonic state, he sits outside his house for three days, never moving, until his sister visits and gets him inside. He does not talk.
But at some point, after a dark web internet search showing a man jumping off a cliff and rising to fly, he buys a how-to book on human flight for $5,400.
People who go through the death of a loved one have various kinds of desires for unification with the loved one as well as guilt and despair. For Ben, it’s not that he wants to join his wife as much as he just can’t find the drive to live anymore, which is not helped by a life insurance adjuster’s questions about his marriage and possible motives. Then he gets the extravagantly crazy idea that he could learn to fly. This idea takes the focus off his despair.
Believe it or not, this is a very unassuming, well-made film. Ben’s wife, Sarah (fabulous acting by Reina Hardesty), is seen throughout in a series of clips Ben had made while they were married. In case one of them died, Ben assumed the survivor could be comforted through the videos. In this way, you get to know the dynamics of their somewhat rocky relationship as well as witness what a cool gal Sarah was.
To help him through his abyss of loss, the author who wrote the book on how to fly shows up in his bus named Sally. It was his Internet ad that attracted Ben: “If you want to leave this world behind contact me.”
His book on how to fly becomes a vehicle for processing grief. The guru, eerily sure of himself, played with perfection by Paul Raci, calls himself Mealworm and seems to honestly be a little magical. The chapters of his book become the chapters in the film and the roadmap to healing.
It took Jesse Orenshein 11 years to write this screenplay, his first. He was only 24 years old. Like Ben and his wife Sarah, Jesse has written children’s books which are featured in the movie as Ben and Sarah’s. His script comes across as natural, funny, tragic and mystical. We all know people can’t fly, but where is Orenshein taking us and what is his purpose? The answers and more questions add to the importance and depth of this uncommon film.
Directed by the wild H.P. Mendoza, “The Secret Art of Human Flight” transfers off the script into a fabulously rich internal journey. Coupled with cinematography expert Markus Mentzer’s genius and Mendoza’s music, Orenshein’s screenplay shines with an uncommon depth on grief and loss.
Credits
Director: H.P. Mendoza
Producers: Grant Rosenmeyer, Jonathan Lim, Tina Carbone and Bengamin Wiessner
Writer: Jesse Orenshein
Editor: Mendoza
Music: Mendoza
Cinematography: Markus Mentzer
Wide Release: July 4, 2024, and Aug. 3, 2024
Home Video: Aug. 28, 2024
Watch on Prime Video
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