Review of Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) by Brian R — 26 Jul 2010
This little surrealist masterpiece by Maya Deren and her then husband Alexander Hammid fits more ideas, invention and memorable scenes into its 14 minutes than most films manage in a considerably longer period! A woman dreams of pursuing a mysterious hooded figure (?The Grim Reaper) with a mirror for a face.
My interpretation of it is that when she sees this figure in her room she is looking at her own death - something which seems to be presaged by the symbolic objects that keep disappearing then re-appearing, particularly a key that turns into a knife; but I'm probably being over-simplistic or have missed the point altogether! In my favourite scene, Deren is walking up a normal set of stairs, and each time she pushes against the wall, it triggers the camera to move in that direction, almost as if the camera is part of her body.
There is no dialogue, only a droning soundtrack (added 9 years later by husband #3 Teiji Ito) which heightens the sense of foreboding. This is a strange and unsettling film but an endlessly fascinating one.
This review of Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) was written by Brian R on 26 Jul 2010.
Meshes of the Afternoon has generally received very positive reviews.
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