Meshes of the Afternoon
About Meshes of the Afternoon
A woman sees someone on the street, goes into the house, and falls asleep. In the dream she follows a hooded figure whose face is a mirror. A key, a knife in a loaf, a flower, a telephone off the hook, and a phonograph keep returning. She sees more than one version of herself. A man wakes her. His posture matches the hooded figure. She tries to hurt him and fails. He finds a broken mirror on the wet ground and the woman dead in a chair. Maya Deren plays the woman. Alexander Hammid plays the man.
Cast & crew
More about Meshes of the Afternoon
Maya Deren wrote, produced, edited, and co-directed with her husband Alexandr Hackenschmied, also known as Alexander Hammid, who photographed it. It runs 14 minutes. Teiji Ito wrote a score in 1959. The short won the Grand Prix International for an avant-garde film at the 1947 Cannes festival. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1990. It is in the U.S. public domain because it was published without a copyright notice. A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Themes
Look
Alexandr Hackenschmied photographed the repeats inside the house and the mirror-faced figure.
Music
The 1943 film is silent. Teiji Ito added a score in 1959.
Preservation
Named to the National Film Registry in 1990. Public domain in the United States. A copy is on Wikimedia Commons.
Notes
- The flower on the path, the falling key, and the knife in the bread are the objects that repeat.
- The 1959 Ito score is later than the silent 1943 picture.
- Hackenschmied is the same person as Alexander Hammid.
- The Cannes prize is the 1947 avant-garde Grand Prix International.
Awards
- Grand Prix International for avant-garde film, Cannes Film Festival (1947)
Scenes
- The hooded figure turns, and the face is a mirror.
- The man finds the broken mirror on the wet ground and the woman dead in the chair.
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Meshes of the Afternoon)