Meshes of the Afternoon

MOVIE #1,596 •🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿• 05.01.24 Pαɾƚ σϝ ƚԋҽ MAYA DEREN ԃιɾҽƈƚσɾ ϝσƈυʂ ʂҽɾιҽʂ This is a stone-cold classic, not just of experimental cinema but the movies at large. It still hits. I actually was able to see this (on film, I believe) when I was an undergrad student at Rutgers. I’ve mentioned him before, but I took a few classes taught by experimental filmmaker Albert Gabriel Nigrin (I should do a Director Focus on him honestly) that were transformative and perhaps the most important pathway on my journey to becoming a cinephile. S/O A.G.! I am pretty sure I’ve mentioned him before but he was an amazing teacher, legitimately passionate about the subject matter in a way that I felt like I never experienced before. (Side note: I love that he’s still making art. He has three new films in 2024 listed on his website!)

The opening shot is so simple but so damn effective, and it's just non-stop creativity for almost fourteen minutes…


And look, we can quibble, but Mirrorface is a top ten movie character of all-time AT LEAST...


I was having a rough day when I watched this and something about it felt like the embodiment of disassociation, which I was vaguely experiencing at the time. I can’t put my finger on it, and that’s exactly the point.

I’m excited to get into this Maya Deren D.F.! (FYI this was one of several collabs with Deren’s husband Alexandr Hackenschmied — not to short-change that dude, but this is still the Maya Deren D.F.!)

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CHRONOLOGICALLY
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Meshes of the Afternoon is a 1943 American experimental silent short film directed by and starring wife-and-husband team, Maya Deren and Alexandr Hackenschmied.It was released on December 17, 1943.