Trailer for Kanye West's Directorial Debut Runaway: Even West Admits it's Not Quite as Good as 8 1/2

Kanye West is currently touring the world, screening a 40-minute film Runaway, which he shot for four days in Prague and directed himself. During a screening in Sydney, West apparently took a stab at humility when introducing the film to the crowd. I'm no Fellini," he said to the confused masses. Thanks for the disclaimer, Kanye.

Once he had crushed the dreams of everyone in the audience expecting to see the next La Dolce Vita, West let the film speak for itself...until he came up after it finished and apologized a bit more, defended his right to make it, and explained his decision to direct himself.

"I may cringe at everything I just saw then in five years from now. I knew some of my images, my ideas, were so amateur, no director would want to do this for me. So I had to do it myself," says West about the project. "I'd rather it be my vision and my dream and be sub par, than for it to be someone else's vision and perfect."

Fair enough. The film apparently features eight of West's tracks and plays more like an extended music video than a narrative. According to a writer who saw it in Sydney, it's heavy on symbolism and light on any real depth or character development. But that didn't stop her from analyzing the hell out of it.

It is as visually spectacular as it is sonically rewarding. Rich colours, dynamic contrasts, and an almost rampant use of mythological symbols; birds (a phoenix to be precise), flight, storms, fire, floods, hooded-figures, effigies, ballerinas, bunnies, bambis and innocence.

As with any good Greek mythological saga these symbols echo archetypal themes of discovery, metamorphosis, mortality, loss, acceptance and redemption. But unlike it's heavily referenced Aesop's Fables, in Runaway there is no grotesque humor dealing with the pain of the human condition.

Uh huh.

As for the trailer itself, I was kind of pumped. With West's nuclear bomb subtlety, arrogance, and massive amounts of money, I was hoping for the art-film cousin to Trapped in the Closet. And...I guess that's what I got? It's hard to say. The minute-long teaser isn't quite as ridiculous as that, but it's still pretty ridiculous. It features deer in slow motion, some fire and silhouettes, and Victoria's secret model Selita Ebanks dressed up like a reject from a Matthew Barney film. It's actually possible the whole movie is in slow motion. In any case, I guess the teaser did its job because I do want to see more. Check it out below.

Verdict: Sold, with expectations in check.

· Kanye West's Runaway Premiere: Reviewed [The Music Network]