Writer/Director/Actor Anjeli Jana’s My Marina is an ode to her love affair, one that she cautiously explored, of a famed shore that has been a lover to many. With Jana’s voice over, we see the harbour as she sees it – bright, welcoming, and beguiling. With yachts and sailboats docked, a curious seal peeping out of the blue waters, LA’s Marina is beautiful.
Jana narrates her tale. The sermons she has heard of the flashy, why, even sexy coast that might perhaps be more for her to take on. Of its treacherous liaisons and bewitching nights and yet she walks into it – wide awake. She makes it seem like a chapter in her life, from the butterfly moments experienced to the ultimate surrender, her tale both relatable and universal.
At just 1:48 minutes, My Marina is undeniably minuscule on the timescale and yet quite impactful. For a film that has little to no background score, it’s the voiceover that does the work, which could have been accorded with more finesse. ‘Stranger Star’, written and performed by Jana remains the steadfast companion throughout. The editing is passable, but would have done wonders with seamless transitions between the montages. As for the cinematography, Marina Del Rey is far too beautiful for anything to go wrong with it. But, in all fairness, it deserved more.
Jana’s My Marina is unconventional. She lets her subject be this spectacular location, letting the audience soak in the spectacle as she does herself, every time… And, although it is she who is voicing it, the well-written dialogues might as well be someone else’s thoughts, for it is that easy for anyone to fall in love with LA’s Marina.
