“Advance, be born, open, fight, expose, love, close, die,” which strangely resembles the opening statement of my review for Nocturna: Side A, is part of the opening dialogue narrated by a woman retelling the story from her lens in Nocturna: Side B – Where The Elephants Go To Die.

In this revision of the main plot, we still see the hard night an old man lives in his apartment from new angles, but this time new elements enter to play putting the spotlight on other characters and their thoughts. Yes, the old man is still the main link, but now it gives us the opportunity to learn more about the chaotic incidental characters living (or haunting) the apartment complex.

Nocturna: Side B – Where The Elephants Go To Die is a recollection of all the events that happened in the building where the story unfolds. It is not a direct sequel but a complement to the central plot narrated in an experimental way from another point of view—and another state of mind. In order to enjoy this poetic vision, it is necessary previously watch Nocturna: Side A – The Great Old Man’s Night or else the narrative could be meaningless and might be interpreted as a simple pompous anthology of tragedies instead of seeing it as an ambitious, poetic, and eccentric visual experiment.

The film is 40 minutes shorter than its previous installment and, thankfully, it’s better that it was kept to the one-hour limit because otherwise it would be tedious due to the heavy themes it handles and the visual techniques it uses to expose a second perspective of the story— it has brand-new eyes for retelling a tragic story. In this version, the moral is created from different monologues provided by the characters as they pass through several of their fears. However, in this feature film there is an unexpected twist regarding death: initially it was rejected, but now it is accepted. This simply makes the final product more meta by showing both sides of the coin— as some run from it, others invite it.

The editing is impressive, not to say chaotic, because it is a juxtaposition of images that go according to the essence of each character. Despite functioning as a piece of audiovisual art, it maintains its position by being a heartbreaking story that only scares when you think about how much time you have left and wonder if there’s anything left on your bucket list to be fulfilled.

Nocturna: Side B – Where The Elephants Go To Die goes straight to the guts to solidify the narrative of its first installment. It explains things better, although sometimes it leaves details between the lines, and it shows another face that for some can be terrifying. Even when you may know the outcome of the story, the blow is harder by the thoughts that invade the characters in this expansion. It maintains the same promise from its previous installment, but this time it will leave you with a question to reflect on in the long term: what will your final thought be?

9 OUT OF 10 MEMORIES