Spheres / 1943: Berlin Blitz review – VR becomes reality in Venice

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A cosmic trip produced by Darren Aronofsky and an immersive Lancaster bombing raid were highlights of the film festival's virtual reality strand

The virtual reality section at Venice is growing at an almost exponential rate: two years ago it was low-key, notable mainly for a demure Sunday-school retelling of the life of Jesus. In 2018, it is a substantial exhibition featuring state-of-the-art tech and an almost overwhelming range of entries, some of them "full body" concepts in which audience members suit up for a complete immersion. Interestingly, the vocabulary is still in a state of flux: are they "projects", "installations", "films"? The festival has intriguingly repurposed a building on a once deserted island to house the event: the Lazzaretto Vecchio, home to a 16th-century plague hospital which has now been imaginatively converted into an exhibition space.

Perhaps the biggest film in the competition is Spheres, written and directed by artist and film-maker Eliza McNitt and produced by Darren Aronofsky. It's a freakily cosmic three-part VR series that reinvents the medieval concept of the music of the spheres. The spectator floats through space, and planets and heavenly bodies loom up hugely. The VR sensors on your hands allow you to "touch" them, perhaps plunging you inside the planet - a mysterious, ambient wash of fiery red or cool blue. Or touching will elicit its enigmatic music. The first part of the film is an introduction to this vast arena; part two is narrated by Jessica Chastain and is about black holes; the third part is narrated by Patti Smith and is about the cosmic origin of music.