Meshes of the Afternoon
Performance
Cinematography
Narrative Conventions
Editing
Genre Conventions
Does the film include any of the below?
Narrative which has a distinct genre
A narrative which has parallel stories
A non-linear narrative
A narrator
if so how is this done (consider film form, narrative, genre etc.)?
Mise en scene
Costume - Simple yet effective. Simplistic costumes allow for refined, recognisable silhouettes and shadows. These are used to enhance the ambiguity of the film as shadows represent secrets, deceit, uncertainty, and dark magic. They are usually associated with darkness and therefore given negative traits.
The protagonist maintains a solemn expression throughout the majority of the scenes, insinuating that she is unable to comprehend her surroundings. Alternatively, this could confirm that each repeat is a new parallel strain of the events, with her unchanging expression showing that she is experiencing the events again for what feels like the first time.
FIRST SHOT: the first shot within the film is a hand holding a flower, and the camera pans down (following the hand) as the flower is paced on the floor. This implies that the flower is one of the most significant aspects of the short film, which later becomes true as it's what starts each new woman's journey.
Quick jump cuts, such as when the key falls down the stairs, gives a sense of urgency, especially when the woman begins to run down the stairs after it. The quick series of short clips joined with jump cuts emphasise the possible importance of the key.
The scene where the woman is stumbling around when she's going up the stairs gives the scene an erratic look
The constant switching between the key and the knife could indicate the woman's inner turmoil regarding her brief experience with the cloaked figure; her mind proposes seeking knowledge and seeking violence, which ultimately helps to exacerbate her confusion until she sees multiple versions of herself and ambiguously dies, presumably by suicide.
THE FLOWER: a narrative prop which drives the conflict for a large portion of the short film
Enigma codes, the film has a plot that will deliberately raise questions within the audience. How certain parts of key information has been left out of the plot to further the anonymity of the film - what is the purpose of the flower, the key and the knife? Who is the woman, the man, the figure?
The scene where the pieces of glass get washed away in the ocean shows new beginnings as now the man is being made to relive those days, the same way the woman was.
In the first 5 minutes, the spectators are told hardly anything about the protagonist. We don’t know how old she is, her backstory or even her face. All we know is that our protagonist is a woman living in a seaside area of, what I assume to be, America. We do not get a glimpse of the character’s full face until 4:40 minutes into the film, the first 4:40 minutes are watched for the first time full of speculation, who is this character? The audience is left to wonder as we view her chasing another faceless figure cloaked in black.
Setting, the film has a very desolate, empty setting which is a similar convention of thriller or mysetry film, it isolates the character. However, instead of it being an old house or in the woods, it is set in a location that seems tropical, going against the convention of a thriller or a mystery film. However this only adds to the mystery, making it extremely eerie.
As the film reaches its climax, the cinematography becomes much more experimental - Deren uses Dutch angles and more tilted shots to nod to the women's "insanity".
The woman and the mirror-faced figure could bear some similarities to one another, as the first 4:40 minutes of the film are spent with our protagonist being faceless. Her anonymity can be compared to the figure’s lack of face. Also how the figure’s face is a mirror could reflect the protagonist's face, combining the two as one similar being.
The exposition of the film contradicts narrative conventions, not introducing any primary characters and instead showing an ambiguous shot of a flower.
The woman each time the cycle of the narrative repeats appears to lose energy in her actions.
The film only takes place within a singular location - that being the woman's house and front yard. This is typical of short films.