Ballet Mechanique

In today's session, amongst other experimental films, we watched Ballet Mechanique. I was intrigued to watch it because of the discussion that I'd read in Bordwell's article we'd been given and so I felt that I could read more into the film than I perhaps would have if I had not read the article before hand.

The film juxtaposes human behaviours with images of machines and objects but it observes rhythm throughout the piece - from reading Bordwell's article, I began to see the parallels the filmmakers were drawing between mechanical rhythms and human behaviours through repetitions such as the woman on the swing at the very beginning and the woman on the steps, whose motions become more mechanical after being repeated and being juxtaposed with the imagery of pistons.

There is clear use of cubism, especially in the animated imagery of Charlie Chaplin featured in the beginning and end segments of the film. Cubism can also be related to the shots of objects seen through a prism which are used throughout the film.

I think to begin to comprehend more of the film, I'd need to continue with more reading and re watch the film a few more times.