Meshes Of The Afternoon Analysis

Meshes of the Afternoon is an experimental film made in 1943 by husband and wife; Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid. It is one of the most significant films established during the Avant-Garde movement, which is now known as the New American Cinema. The movie is non narrative, and is categorized to be a trance film because the central character is set to be in a dreamy state. The film somewhat repeats itself following a specific theme including main symbolic objects such as a key, knife in a loaf of bread, a flower, a long pathway, a phone off its hook, an unlocked door, ocean, record player, and a mysterious figure wearing a long hooded cloak with a mirror as its face. With diverse camera angles, distinct perspectives, and the use of slow motion, this surrealist film makes us question our dreams from reality.
The film starts off with a flower being placed in the middle of the long driveway and is later picked up by the protagonist, Deren. The use of showing the silhouette of the figure was beautifully done in this scene. She smells the flower and approaches the door to her house. She tries to open it but the door is locked, so she pulls out her key which falls down the stairs and is later picked up. She opens the house door, looks around into the interior

Deren’s dream begins with a hooded man cloaked with a mirror face, carrying a flower. She tries to run after him but isn’t fast enough to catch up to him. She goes back to her house, opens the door and sees the knife on the stairs this time. She goes up the stairs really fast but was edited into slow motion. She sees the unhooked phone and places it back into place. She notices the knife and exists the room falling down the stairs. She sees herself on the sofa asleep, stops the music again and notices from the window, the hooded man walking along the driveway with another version of herself chasing after him. She removes the key from her mouth and places it in her