Animalistic Femininity | The Capsule

Set in the shadowy corners of the Cyclades islands, THE CAPSULE is a haunting exploration of femininity, control, instinct, and raw impulse. Commissioned by Dakis Joannou, founder of the DESTE Foundation of Contemporary Art in Greece, the short film was directed under the Gothic guise and whimsical touch of Athina Rachel Tsangari. Toying with the wiles of fetishism, horror, jealousy, fear and pleasure, the ‘Greek Gothic’ is a subtle metaphor for the loss of girlish innocence and the coming of womanly power.

THE CAPSULE (2012) / directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari / official trailer from HAOS FILM on Vimeo.

Tsangari and Joannou created the film as a re-interpretation of the ‘DesteFashionCollection’: a project developed in 2007 that used a ‘capsule collection’ of artworks to re-envision the fashion industry through creating a dialogue between art and fashion. Elements of fashion can be seen in the film’s use of haute couture designs to dress its rose-faced female disciples. The novices are led by a domina matriarch who wears a gold plated collar around her neck – an object of jealousy designed by Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton. The ornate mansion and the expensive clothing that dress the women are a striking contrast to the lessons and behaviours the girls enact.

The last thing I will teach you… is to lack

THE CAPSULE is darkly fantastical with the softness of the girls juxtaposed against their animalistic nature. The story quickly develops into a horror narrative akin to a Lord of the Flies-esque temperament where lustful impulses become a ritualistic rite to womanhood. The intelligence of the movie lies in its ability to maintain the delicate essence of femininity while women lash out in the warrior aggression typically reserved for patriarchy. The walls of the mansion banish societal norms, but imprison the wicked temptations that lie beneath the surface of these impressionable women. Stepping outside the boundaries of conformity and comfort, the film is a captivating look at the meaning of womanhood through the magical interaction of art, fashion, and cinema.