Witch's Cradle

MOVIE #1,677 • 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 • 05.29.24 Pαɾƚ σϝ ƚԋҽ MAYA DEREN ԃιɾҽƈƚσɾ ϝσƈυʂ ʂҽɾιҽʂ The surrealist film shows repetitive imagery involving a string fashioned in a bizarre, almost spiderweb-like pattern over the hands of several individuals, most notably an unnamed young woman (Pajorita Marta) and an elderly gentleman (Marcel Duchamp). The film also shows a shadowy darkness and people filmed at odd angles, an exposed human heart, and other occult symbols and ritualistic imagery which evokes an unsettling and dream-like aura. I don't know what this would have looked like finished (duh) but it feels unfinished (and that's fine). The cool, simple (and satanic) effects look great but it never rises to the level of Deren’s first two impeccable works. Also, ACTING!...

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CHRONOLOGICALLY
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The Witch's Cradle (1944), sometimes billed as Witches' Cradle, is an unfinished, silent, experimental short film written and directed by Maya Deren, featuring Marcel Duchamp, and filmed in Peggy Guggenheim's Art of This Century gallery. It was released on May 3, 1944.