Meshes of the After
NoBudge-O-Ween • Short Films, 15-Jun-2022
A woman returns home to a constantly shifting domestic and mental landscape in this retelling of “Meshes of the Afternoon,” Maya Deren’s landmark avant-garde film. Meg Case and Brad Porter direct “Meshes of the After,” swapping 1940’s Hollywood for Brooklyn current day, and grainy black and white for sharp color. Largely the adaptation remains faithful to the original (while experimenting with pacing and sequencing) within its visual mutations, its merging of reality and imagination, and its recursive action designed with repeating motifs and labyrinthine logic. As well, both films allow plenty of room for interpretation and formal experimentation — extreme close-ups, use of shadow, camera (dis)orientation — as they depict a woman arriving into a state of upheaval. We featured Case and Porter previously with their 2020 quarantine opus, “Wrath,” which also involved elaborate, inventive uses of an ordinary home space transported through surreal visions. -KA. Directors, editors, DP’s, Producers, cast: Meg Case and Brad Porter.
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