Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Dir. Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid

Incoherent? No. Illogical? Yes, but that's what makes it so gratifying. The shifting perspectives (only showing fragments of Maya Deren at times and putting you in third-person at others) is what drives the surreal feeling of this dream world, and the times when the physical world is unstable adds nausea to the dark mystery which sometimes feels grounded in portraying what an unknown fear feels like. Pinpointing the actual "danger" in the film feels out of reach: the mysterious hooded figure with a mirror for a face initially feels like a threat, making Deren's character and the viewer paranoid, but its true nature is ambiguous. And that adds to the journey of it all.

Of course, this was made at a time when black-and-white film was practically the only option for something like this, but I can't see it working half as well if it were in color. Co-directors Deren and Alexander Hammid were surely aware of how the film's technicalities play a big part in creating tone, which is also apparent in the decision to not include any music. The lack of tonal shifts that a soundtrack usually provides leaves you wondering how you should be reacting to what's on screen. Just like the confusion felt while watching certain scenes on a purely visual level, the narrative — whatever you think that is — requires attention. The events may seem random, but the film has a sequence. As untraditional as the storytelling is — many more minutes of context feel as though they're missing — it works for the uneasy mood. Characters and items are often introduced without explanation but they're there for a reason. Although not everything is expected to make sense (and I'd assume that's intentional), some sort of causation for each development can definitely be found. There aren't definitive answers to everything but you can certainly draw your own map of reasoning for what happens within the 14 minutes.

10/29/24

Watch the full film below…