FILM REVIEW AND ANALYSIS BY SETSOAFIA SELASIE JUNIOR

 Film title : The Centrifuge Brain Project

Directed by Till Nowak

Produced by Till Nowak

In Till Nowak’s short film The Centrifuge Brain Project, the line between reality and absurdity is cleverly blurred through a mockumentary style that mimics scientific documentaries. As a viewer, I found myself initially captivated by the calm and logical tone of the narrator, only to slowly realize that the content being presented was increasingly bizarre and scientifically impossible. The film follows a fictional scientist named Dr. Nick Laslowicz, who claims to lead a project involving the creation of extreme amusement park rides designed to test and improve human brain function. Despite the obviously absurd nature of the rides which include enormous spinning arms that toss people hundreds of feet into the air or loops that make no physical sense the narration remains completely serious throughout, which creates both humor and deeper commentary.

The central theme of the film seems to focus on how easily we can be misled by authority, structure, and presentation. Dr. Laslowicz is presented as a calm, educated, and trustworthy expert. He uses technical language, speaks with confidence, and appears in a sterile, scientific environment, all of which make him feel credible. As a viewer, it took me a few minutes to realize that everything he was saying was nonsense. I think this is what the filmmaker wants us to feel that confusion, that moment of realization because it reflects how in real life, people often believe information just because it is delivered in an official way. The film seems to be asking: how much can people be made to believe if the speaker looks and sounds like they know what they’re talking about?

What makes this short film so effective is how it combines visual effects with documentary-style filmmaking. The footage of the rides looks grainy and shaky, as if it were filmed by a phone or handheld camera. This gives the illusion of real, found footage, which makes the rides seem even more believable at first. The visual effects are very well done—they’re strange, but they don’t immediately look fake. Combined with the deadpan narration, the whole film starts to feel disturbingly plausible. I think this is one of the film’s smartest techniques: it tricks us into questioning our own sense of reality. It’s not until the rides become so extreme and ridiculous that we’re forced to stop and reconsider what we’re watching.

Dr. Laslowicz, as a character, is fascinating because he never breaks character. He truly believes in what he’s saying, and that conviction is what makes the film so engaging. Even though we never see anyone challenge him or provide a different perspective, his own words slowly reveal the madness behind the project. The more he explains the science, the more we begin to see the cracks. There’s something unsettling about how calmly he talks about experiments that sound dangerous or inhumane. In a way, he represents how science can be twisted when ethics and responsibility are ignored. The film isn’t making fun of science itself, but it is warning us about blind trust in authority.

In terms of sound, the film keeps things very subtle. There’s no dramatic music or emotional soundtrack. The only sounds we hear are the natural background noises of the supposed parks and labs—wind, mechanical creaks, and the occasional faint screams from the rides. This minimalist approach works well, because it doesn’t distract from the narration and helps keep the illusion of a real documentary.

Overall, I found The Centrifuge Brain Project to be both funny and thought-provoking. It’s a short film that doesn’t rely on a traditional plot, but instead builds its story through tone, visuals, and concept. As a film student, it made me think about how powerful presentation and storytelling can be. The film reminded me that in cinema, what you say is important—but how you say it is just as powerful. By using a believable documentary style to present something completely unbelievable, Till Nowak challenges us to question not just what we see, but why we believe it. For that reason, I believe this short film is an excellent example of how satire and storytelling can work together in film to make us think more critically about the world around us.

Dr. Nick Laslowicz stood before the camera with the quiet assurance of someone who had stared at the very edge of human limitation and decided to push beyond it. His words were calm, even gentle, but behind his measured tone lay a restless belief in possibility. Dressed in a modest white lab coat, with instruments humming quietly in the background, he looked like any ordinary researcher. But Dr. Laslowicz was anything but ordinary.

Years ago, he had joined what was once a small initiative focused on the effects of centrifugal force on balance and perception. But somewhere along the way, the project had grown into something much stranger. Now, at the heart of what he called “The Centrifuge Brain Project,” were monstrous machines impossibly tall towers and winding tracks that twisted and looped like a mad man’s sketch of an amusement park.

These machines were not designed for thrill. At least, not according to Laslowicz. They were, in his words, "tools of cognitive expansion.” Rides that spun faster than logic, that flung bodies into strange arcs of thought and physical sensation. “We don’t just want to entertain,” he said into the camera, his face unwavering. “We want to explore what the brain can become under extreme conditions.”

At first, the ideas seemed almost believable. His explanations were rich with diagrams, test footage, and a tone of scientific detachment. The rides though towering and complex were presented like cutting-edge breakthroughs. But as he continued, the experiments began to drift into the absurd. He described a ride that rotated passengers upside down for seven hours. Another launched people through thirty-six disorienting loops before allowing them to "recalibrate their senses.” Some machines defied the laws of physics. Others seemed to defy the very idea of ethical research.

Still, Laslowicz never flinched. He described the failures as learning opportunities. He recalled “accidental discoveries” that emerged from mechanical malfunctions. He referenced reports, studies, and imagined scientific conferences, speaking with a clarity that was hard to doubt even when he was saying things that no rational person should accept.

But beneath the bizarre mechanics and wild ride footage, something deeper pulsed through the film. It wasn’t just about science, or technology, or even madness. It was about belief. Laslowicz believed in his work with such passion that it became almost infectious. For a few moments, even the most skeptical viewer might wonder: What if he’s right? What if extreme experiences really could unlock hidden parts of the brain?

And then, just as quickly, the illusion would crack. The visuals became too impossible. The logic collapsed in on itself. The rides clearly computer-generated crossed a threshold from surreal to completely ridiculous. But by that point, it was too late. The audience had already followed him this far. The doubt had already been planted. The film had already done its work.

When Laslowicz turned away at the end, adjusting his glasses and disappearing into the shadows of his lab, he left no answers only questions. Was he a genius? A lunatic? Or just a mirror held up to our willingness to believe anything that wears the costume of credibility?

In his absence, the rides kept spinning in our minds. Not because they were real, but because they revealed something real about us: how easily spectacle can seduce us, and how confidently nonsense can disguise itself as truth.

Link to watch film : https://youtu.be/RVeHxUVkW4w?si=TqhXtinEP9TDPjgf

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