“I could do wonders if I didn't have a body. But the body grabs me, it slows me, it enslaves me.” -- Ponce de Léon Our PONCE DE LEÓN discovered the fountain of youth and drank of immortality in the waning moments of his life. In an instant, he became old forever – an 80-year old Spaniard who would continue to walk the earth for century after century after century, watching as coral foundations gave way to mangrove swamps, as swamps were drained and buildings were erected, as buildings decayed and swamps returned. Our PONCE DE LEÓN is an immortal for whom time poses the greatest dilemma – it is a constant, a given, and his personal battle lies in trying to either arrest time entirely or to make the hands on his clock move ever faster. For Ponce de Léon, time is a problem of body, and only by escaping his container can he escape time itself.
Direction
Dual directors craft hypnotic temporal dread
Cinematography
Florida's decaying beauty as eternal purgatory
Director
Ben Russell
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Jim Drain and Ben Russell were frequent collaborators in the experimental film scene, often exploring bodies in space and time.
The real Ponce de León never actually searched for the fountain of youth; that myth was retroactively applied by later writers. This film weaponizes the irony.
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