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  • milliegray2022

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Updated: May 1, 2023

This thought-provoking picture that lacks narrative and structure was a confusing piece. Similar to Un Chien Andalou and Destino this picture also explores themes of surrealism and these dream-like visions that can shock and intrigue simultaneously. The imagery, expressions and sudden changes of location threw the piece into a sense of chaos that the viewer has no way of understanding, perfectly encapsulating this ideal of throwing away the narrative within surrealism.


Out of the three surrealist shorts I have seen this one left me the most confused. Although the imagery in Un Chien Andalou left me more shocked, I had very little idea of what was happening in this piece, even down to the simple themes. Creators and stars of this piece Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid do however, show complete devotion to the aims of surrealism with their unexpected images, dream like sequences and complete disregard for structure. The imagery I would say is very successful as its combination of beautiful and eerie images work to create that dream, or nightmare in this case, like atmosphere where reality blurs with the subconscious.


Although I enjoy exploring experimental films and would like to see them more encouraged in today's film industry this one just felt too disjointed for me. Similar to my review of Un Chien Andalou, I appreciate the artistry and do think it fits perfectly into the surrealist era making it an important film within history, however, I just couldn't connect with this piece.

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