Meshes of the Afternoon
I watched the video "Meshes of the Afternoon" (1943) by Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid. It reminds me of "M" (1931) by Fritz Lang, but with more of an avante garde angle. I think that's why I liked this film the best of all the ones I watched. It had a storyline with the good old fashioned use of symbolism, but with elements of experimental film making. The effects that the piece utilized are all creative usages of the film itself, or how to work the camera. CGI has made the current movie makers of today a little lax when it comes to creative shot composition or transitions.
It also perfectly captures those terrifying moments when you don't know whether you're dreaming or not. Through simple camera tricks like spiraling the frame position or low angle shots, it keeps the feeling of a dream state without bringing in fog and glitter. I also liked that it stayed true to dream logic. Spatial orientation and relationships are skewed, objects change into other objects and can come from anywhere. In fact, that element adds to the complexity of the film itself.
From my interpretation, the film begins and we only see shadows of the person, or the feet and hands. We only see the full face of this person once she is dreaming. Life is a shadow of what it could be, not satisfying and more often than not hard work. The key coming from her mouth is the truth and when it turns int a knife it means her true thoughts are that the key to escape is a knife. The use of mirrors implies she has trouble accepting herself as a whole, which is also why there are multiple versions of her in the dream.
The film revolves around the struggles of life, the concept of death, and the multiple definitions of self. The style of the transitions and shot compositions reminded me of "Sybil" (1976) with Sally Field. I am always amazed when I find a film that another film makes reference to and pulls from, especially when the concepts of the two films are so similar. It tells me that there are still smart filmmakers out there.
It also perfectly captures those terrifying moments when you don't know whether you're dreaming or not. Through simple camera tricks like spiraling the frame position or low angle shots, it keeps the feeling of a dream state without bringing in fog and glitter. I also liked that it stayed true to dream logic. Spatial orientation and relationships are skewed, objects change into other objects and can come from anywhere. In fact, that element adds to the complexity of the film itself.
From my interpretation, the film begins and we only see shadows of the person, or the feet and hands. We only see the full face of this person once she is dreaming. Life is a shadow of what it could be, not satisfying and more often than not hard work. The key coming from her mouth is the truth and when it turns int a knife it means her true thoughts are that the key to escape is a knife. The use of mirrors implies she has trouble accepting herself as a whole, which is also why there are multiple versions of her in the dream.
The film revolves around the struggles of life, the concept of death, and the multiple definitions of self. The style of the transitions and shot compositions reminded me of "Sybil" (1976) with Sally Field. I am always amazed when I find a film that another film makes reference to and pulls from, especially when the concepts of the two films are so similar. It tells me that there are still smart filmmakers out there.
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