Melodrama/ Random/ Melbourne!(2018)is anelectri
fyinglycontemporaryfilm. Its prolificdirector,Matthew
VictorPastor,has embracedthe possibilitiesof digital
filmmakingin a way that few youngfilmmakersdare to,
havingcarvedout a body of work that resembleslittle else
currentlybeing producedin Australiancinema.Here, the
formallyadventurousPastorturns his screensensibilities
to nocturnallife on the streetsof downtownMelbourne.
An unabashedlylow-budgetfilm,Melodrama/ Random/
Melbourne!is brimmingwith ideas and unafraidto take its
viewersto some ugly placesas it unflinchinglysurveysthe
underbellyof its titular city’s night-lifeand shines a light on
contemporaryrace relationsin Australia.
The film’s three-stroketitle is reflectedin its shifting
structureand constantplay with perspective.It begins
with YouTube-stylevideosthat introduceus to Tru Male
Dynamics(stylisedas ‘tMd’), a crew of so-calledpick-up
artists(PUAs).They are led by Garistar(Elliot Ng), who uses
his variousonlineplatformsto chart his sexualconquests
and dispensesadviceto his viewershipon how to ‘pick
up’ womenfor casualsex. Garistarand his circle oftMd
followersare also the subjectsof a documentarybeing
made by youngfilmmakerAries Santos(BridgetO’Brien),
who, alongsideher collaborators,grappleswith the ethics
of depictingsuch odioussubjectmatter.AsMelodrama/
Random/ Melbourne!unfolds,we are graduallyintroduced
to the Santosfamily– Aries’ sister,Angela(CelinaYuen,
who co-wrotethe film with Pastor),who has her own con
nectionto thetMdunderworld;and their mother,Agnes
(Rachel E Javier, who also served as associate producer),
whosestory, as a migrantto Australiain the 1980s,is so
differentfrom the experiencesof her second-generation
daughters.In the film’s final act, the lives of its characters
intersectin unexpected ways, revealingthe connections
that unify their seeminglydisparateexperiences.
As well as its narrativetrickeryand playingwith per
spective,Melodrama/ Random/ Melbourne!employs
a numberof mixedmodalities.The film frequentlyshifts
aspectratio as it incorporatesweb-stylefootage;in par
ticular,YouTube-styleclips, Skypechats and Instagram
storiesbrandedwith thetMdlivery evokethe contempo
rary visual-interfacelexiconof millennialcommunication.
Pastorunderstandsthat the internetis the portal through
whichyoungpeopleunderstandthe world – and their
phones,their conduits– as they are individuallyisolated
yet relentlesslycommunicating.We witnessmany of the
characteristicaspectsof this new, technologicallydeter
minedlandscapeof youth:ghosting,incels,fuckboys.Sex
is everywhere,the chargedatmosphereamplifiedthrough
the all-encompassingself-representationof the internet.
Throughoutthe film, Aries interviewsmen involvedin
thetMdcommunity,and, in anotherperspectiveshift later
in the narrative,Agnesis given her own interviewpassages.
Withinthese,she reflectson her arrivalin Australiaand
the broaderhistoryof Asian migrationto this country.
Text frequentlyappearson screen,dividingthe film into
discretesegments.In its most explicitlyalienatingflourish
(in the Brechtiansense^1 ), Pastorincorporatesa devicehe
dubs ‘Cinema-O-ke’,structuringextendedsong sequen-
ces around pop-punk tracks and ballads written by hisAUSTRALIANAND
NEW ZEALAND CINEMAThis spread, L–R:Aries (Bridget O’Brien); Aries with her sister, Angela (Celina Yuen); Angelahttp://www.metromagazine.com.au | © ATOM | Metro Magazine 201• 25