Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) Review

Title: Meshes of the Afternoon
Year: 1943
Director: Maya Deren
Language: N/A
Country: US

Clocking in at 14 minutes, Meshes of the Afternoon was the shortest entry in this decades' Sight and Sound Greatest Films Poll. On the Critics' list it made #16. Curious, I checked it out on Criterion Channel. Although a soundtrack was later added, Criterion presented the film as it originally played without sound. It is quite a peculiar picture; made during Hollywood's Golden Era, the film is unlike anything made at the rime.

In this, a woman (Maya Deren) returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality.

Maya Deren's Meshes of the Afternoon is a standout in 1940's cinema, because of how avant-garde it is. It's disorienting due to its surreal imagery and complex psychological themes. It's a feminist picture because of how it dissects oneself and the female psyche. Through visual techniques and symbols we see her innermost desires. 

The handheld POV shots, mixed with uncomfortable closeups and remarkable medium compositions tell a remarkable story that is only intensified with innovative editing and German Expressionistic set design. Depicting fragments of the unconscious mind; Meshes of the Afternoon is one of the rare "dream" films that actually feels like a dream. Its atmosphere is uncanny and one will have to look hard to find anything like it.

Very long, very remarkable essays have been written about this film since its inception. It would be fun to view Meshes of the Afternoon in a psychology class & see what interpretations come out of this art. I found myself in awe; this will certainly have a lasting impression on my mind. 

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