4x3: Deep Forest "Sweet Lullaby" (Tarsem, dir.)

4x3 is the aspect ratio of standard def TV. It's also a new recurring feature on videos from the past...

Tarsem was one of the more mysterious and intriguing music video directors of the '90s, appearing fully-formed with the 1991 REM classic "Losing My Religion.

He moved on from music videos, quickly, first finding success in the commercial world and then heading to the big screen, where he's staked out his own terrain through the trippy  J-Lo sci-fi excursion The Cell, his celebrated art film The Fall, and the 2011 action flick Immortals.

One oft-overlook music video he directed a couple years after his "Losing My Religion" smash, and one that's worth a revisit, is Deep Forest's "Sweet Lullaby".  

The structure is simple: A girl rides a tricycle around the world, mainly through Asia and other off-the-beaten-path locales that match the song's exotic vibe. Much like his other work, each frame is carefully composed and slightly surreal. No performance. No cameos.

And remember, this is form the early '90s: Most of your post/vfx/animation tricks were far out of reach, so think about all the travel, the set-ups, and the budget. If you read the Rob Tannenbaum and Craig Marks oral biography I Want My MTV, then you know that Tarsem spent four months and $40k of his own money to achieve his vision.

Before you scoff and list all the ways you think it's dated, take a moment to realize that this is the kind of video almost every "serious" director is desperate to make, and also: It's approximately 20 years old.

Before you hit play on the video, here's a great quote from an  AV Club interview with Tarsem that puts it in context:

"Things date so dreadfully—when something enters the pop culture like that [R.E.M. "Losing My Religion"], it is going to get ripped off so badly. Invariably, some people will rip it off well, and people who haven't seen it before will watch it and go, "My God, it's full of clichés!" "Yeah, but they weren't clichés back then!" Whereas if it's a complete bomb, and nobody sees it, then it kind of becomes a critics' baby, and it's never copied, and will stand the test of time. I did a Deep Forest video—well, that's my baby. I love that. And that's the kind of thing nobody can rip off or copy... Nobody's going to be nuts enough to rip it off, because it's an uninsurable movie that went all over the world. Those locations will change, and you'll never be able to completely recreate them."

--> watch "Sweet Lullaby"