Week 8 Films

I loved Stan Brakhage's films. They were so engaging that I couldn't look down to take notes while I was watching them. In particular, I didn't want to miss any shot in Mothlight or Dog Star Man. The beauty of these films is even more powerful when it passes by quickly.

Mothlight (1963)
I appreciate how Brakhage highlighted the natural color and shape of the elements he used and crafted them into patterns without altering them. Like I mentioned before, I was able to see the images for just enough time that I was compelled to see more. The combination of the silence with the light colors created a peaceful viewing experience.

Window Water Baby Moving (1959)
After a fair amount of warning, I had an easier time with this than expected - although it was extremely difficult to watch the placenta and the umbilical cord being cut onscreen.
Otherwise, I found it stunning and surprisingly, wanted to see more when it ended. It's interesting that no one else saw the first part in the tub as being tender. Maybe I just have a tendency to over-romanticize what I see.

Prelude: Dog Star Man (1962)
I was enthralled by this film. The colors of the light astounded me and I tried to take a mental picture of certain images to use the colors later in my paintings: red-orange on deep green, bright pink on cobalt, mango-orange on sage. The use of silence in the film elevated it to a spiritual experience.

Hymn to Her (1974)
I didn't enjoy this as much as the first three films because it felt more narrative but wasn't. However, I really enjoyed the shot with the blurred green in the foreground. I can't even remember what the shot was of entirely, but I made sure to make a note of it.

The Dante Quartet (1987)
I actually was not as in awe of this film as I was of the others. For the other films, I felt that no one but Brakhage could have made them. While I understand the time and skill that went into these painted frames, it didn't seem as unique of a vision. Maybe for this reasons I thought the fast frames were more effective than the slow ones that lingered on the individual composition.

I found Phil Solomon's films less easy to watch, because they focused more on deep moods than on the composition of each frame and beauty of life.

Psalm II: Walking Distance (1999)
I found the use of sound to be a little jarring in this film. While it definitely contribute to a melancholy mood, it sounded unnatural and reminded me that it was edited to the visuals. It did find it effective when the sound of a wave crashing accompanied a filtered visual of a wave. I felt like I was being overtaken by the water.

Psalm III: Night of the Meek (2002)
This felt very depressing with the heavy use of blue and image of the person in a hospital bed. One very effective moment was when we were engulfed in a dark screen with night noises. But this film had more disparate types of imagery going on than the other two.

Still Raining, Still Dreaming (2009)
It was easiest to see Brakhage's influence in this film. The figures did feel like dream images, and they acted almost like Rorschach tests for what someone could read into them.