Maya Deren's 'Meshes of the Afternoon' is a short 14 minute film made in 1943. It's a perfect example of a 'trance film' where the protagonist is in a dream-like state. The main character is played by Maya Deren and shows her in her unconscious mind and caught in a web of dream events that spill over into reality. Symbolic objects, such as a key,a mirror, a flower and a knife, recur throughout the film, leaving the viewer to wonder why these objects are so important.
Deren explained that she wanted “to put on film the feeling which a human being experiences about an incident, rather than to record the incident accurately.”
This is very well portrayed within the film, it becomes repetitive and slightly confusing - like how one would feel trying to recall an incident. You won't remember every detail and it can change everytime you talk or think about it - this may be due to the adrenaline you feel when an accident may occur.
At the start of the film, and then occasionally throughout, the camera only focuses on certain parts of the body. During the start, it was her hand and the flower and her feet as she walked across the path and up the stairs, it also focuses on shadows.
I found it intriguing only being able to see certain parts of the body, it left me wondering who the person was and what they were doing. It also made it slightly eerie and reminded me of the works of Alfred Hitchcock.
I like the sense of mystery throughout the film, the uncertainty of what will happen next or what will be repeated or changed. It keeps you engaged and wanting to know the clearer story of what is going on. But at the same time, you don't want to know the full story as the mystery and confusion behind it is far more interesting.
The first time I saw this film was in my second year of University. One session, we watched a range of different films, but his is the one I remember the most, maybe because I found it confusing at the time and it made no sense, but after thinking about it for some time, it started to make sense, and after watching it again I realised the reason behind the mystery and dream-like state of the film.
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