This is the first short film from notable experimental film maker Maya Deren. She was still in her 20s when she wrote, directed and starred in "Meshes of the Afternoon" and got help from her then husband Alexander Hammid in all these areas except writing. It runs for 14 minutes and is entirely black-and-white. Nobody's talking, but it is not a silent film. It's obviously a story about dream and reality and the boundaries between these two not being always very clear. To me, the most interesting thing about it is probably that it was made in the US during World War II. Now if you know a bit about film history, you will know that, at this point in time, especially the American cartoon and war documentary industries were really booming. So these 14 minutes are something entirely different compared to the latest trends in movies back then. However, I have to say I found it boring and don't have the slightest need to rewatch this anytime soon. The depiction of death was pretty nice and so were Deren's look. Still not enough, not recommended.
Review of Meshes of the Afternoon
