Caterpillar

Liza Mandelup's sophomore feature explores the notion of beauty as a commodity and delicately captures how trauma is expressed outwardly. Focusing on disheartened individuals who look to improve their lives by changing the colour of their eyes, she reveals a suspicious industry that readily provides this type of optical surgery. The ornate cinematic style highlights the strangeness of the procedure but never loses track of the emotional journey of those on the operating table.

The camera mainly follows Raymond David Taylor, a middle-aged, gay man living in Florida. Struggling with self-esteem and body-image issues, he decides a change is due. He discovers a company called BrightOcular, which offers a procedure that changes the colour of the patient’s eyes. Determined to have this operation he consults with his mother.

His relationship with his mum acts as the emotional core of the narrative. Forthright framing departs from the overall dynamic visual style to record discussions that reveal years of disagreement. She goes into candid detail about the strain his insecurities have put on their relationship, which fractures their rapport even more. Despite their difficulties, the camera captures their close bond. Before and after the surgery, he relies on her pillar of support, the one person who embraces him for who he is.

After discovering the procedure is free as long as he allows the company to use his story for promotion, he books the first flight to India. This suspicious offer is the first in a series of red flags that David ignores. At the foreign clinic, he meets a group of patients who share his hope of changing their lives through groundbreaking technology. Mandelup takes her time to explore their stories, painting a picture of global obsession with beauty. In comparison with David, most of them have already gone through several surgeries and are more comfortable than the protagonist.

By exploring the cast of patients, the documentarist reveals the questionable activity of the company which seemingly sells a dream. The clinic has no traceable affiliation with BrightOcular and a staff member admits he would personally steer clear of the procedure. They are also neglectful of a young man's lack of English knowledge, which prevents him from fully understanding his poor eyesight increases his chance of encountering side effects.

The filmmaker also addresses the story of Izzy, a single mother working as a model. Going down a rabbit hole of surgeries, she appears to be ensnared by the pressures of fabricated ideals of beauty. The camera looks to find deeper meaning behind her desire to change her appearance, discovering a series of traumas, akin to those suffered by David. Haunted by her familial history, she feels compelled to start with a radical physical change, trusting that her psychological scars will close in due course.

Bright colours and hypnotic camera work follow David and the others both in and outside the operating room. The feeling of a stylised fiction film is constant, with embellishments hinting at the peculiarity of the optical procedure. As the needle touches the eye, the screen plunges into a pool of vivid colour, masking the uneasiness of the surgical environment. Paired with the pulsating sounds of Palmbomen's soundtrack, the result is a tense atmosphere that highlights the yearning of individuals who are anxious but prepared for a transformation.

David and the others feel they have no choice but to go through the risky procedure. The intimate camera watches their internal turmoil as patients of an odd procedure, hoping they can overcome the danger and the side effects. Pressed by their difficult past and the lure of unrealistic beauty standards, they persist. In their mind, changing their eyes is the first step towards a new life.