The most spectacular aspect of Stan Brakhage's COUPLING is the role the imagination plays in linking the perception of what one truly sees to what one 'thinks' they see unfolding on the screen before them.By 1999, Brakhage had been working with the technique of applying coloured markers, inks, chemicals and paints directly onto the surface of the celluloid for well over two decades. Where others strove to create recognizable images, or more often, just pass-off the random blobs of colour, sans editing, as capital "A" art, Stan reached an unparalleled level of control and craftsmanship with the process; COUPLING is a summit in that mastery.Starting out by scratching and painting the surface of raw film stock, the resulting material was then elaborately step-printed at varying speeds, positive and negative images, focused and unfocused and edited in such a way that the abstract shapes, tones, colours and bizarre patterns begin to shimmer, shift, evolve and impact with/in/on one another in intricately designed rhythms. The result for the viewer is conceived 3-dimensional, interactive and spatial levels that truly do not exist, except in that fleeting moment between visual intake and recognition. The effects are utterly stunning. The vibrancy of both the movements and colours create the 'feeling' that one is watching a dance of other- or inner- worldly matter. Watching it I was struck not only by its mesmerizing power and beauty, but by how much it looked like something one could have only achieved with the aid of the most advanced in CGI effects these days.9/10. An awe-inspiring celebration of the hand and eye of a master experimental filmmaker.