Another gem by Maya Deren. This time, a woman washes ashore and the waves return to the sea. She climbs up a piece of driftwood and then appears at a posh diner table. She he has her eye set on a man across the far end of the table, and crawls toward him, with images of her crawling through a jungle cut in. A lot more happens, but I will - experimentally, since I've gotten in the mood - move straight on to my interpretation of the 'story'. It seems to me that this woman is simply born in the beginning, then finds a man (also pictured as a chess piece - the bishop) she wants to be with, but then inside his house discovers he is too needy, and she escapes. She befriends other females, collects stones on the beach and finds another bishop (and she may find more), and finally disappears into the horizon, which represents her death. Again, just my two cents.
Just like in 'Meshes of the afternoon', there's lots of wonderful imagery and terrific ideas that Deren puts to good use for an intriguing, metaphysical study of (her own?) life. This one is not as mesmerizing or dark as 'Meshes...', but it comes awfully close.
A big 8 out of 10.
Just like in 'Meshes of the afternoon', there's lots of wonderful imagery and terrific ideas that Deren puts to good use for an intriguing, metaphysical study of (her own?) life. This one is not as mesmerizing or dark as 'Meshes...', but it comes awfully close.
A big 8 out of 10.