"Meditation on Violence" is another short film by Maya Deren, made after her "Ritual in Transfigured Time"; thus, this is her 6th film. Again the Avant-garde filmmaker incorporates dance, as she had in her "Study in Choreography for Camera" and the beauty of movement to create a surrealistic film about martial arts. The one man featured here is Chao Li Chi, and for 12 minutes we witness a dreamlike picture of martial arts performed with grace and beauty.
Sadly, I regret to say that this film got boring rather quickly, as more than half the 12 minutes is the artist gesturing and kicking in front of a white (or black) backdrop. The part in which Li Chi appears outside in what looks like a small arena with a sword is the most interesting part, as the camera literally moves with him to create an impact. In other words, this short is too lengthy and repetitive, and while starting out interesting becomes dull after four minutes of the same moves.
This problem could have been fixed if Deren had simply made the film shorter into more like six or eight minutes. I love the techniques and the movement, I only wish it had been put in a shorter run time. In addition, this short is different from her earliest work because of the lack of a hidden narrative. When I watch a Deren film I normally try to analyze what the hidden message of the imagery presented is. But this is not like her previous works, it's a work of art from start to finish which does not bug me. It is beautiful and perfectly captures the art of martial arts. Now if only Deren hadn't stuck us with 12 minutes of the same moves performed repetitively...
Definitely worth seeing as a work of art, which it undoubtedly succeeds in creating. However, because of just how long it is, there is no doubt a trip to the editing studios would have improved the dull repetitiveness that much of this short is.
Sadly, I regret to say that this film got boring rather quickly, as more than half the 12 minutes is the artist gesturing and kicking in front of a white (or black) backdrop. The part in which Li Chi appears outside in what looks like a small arena with a sword is the most interesting part, as the camera literally moves with him to create an impact. In other words, this short is too lengthy and repetitive, and while starting out interesting becomes dull after four minutes of the same moves.
This problem could have been fixed if Deren had simply made the film shorter into more like six or eight minutes. I love the techniques and the movement, I only wish it had been put in a shorter run time. In addition, this short is different from her earliest work because of the lack of a hidden narrative. When I watch a Deren film I normally try to analyze what the hidden message of the imagery presented is. But this is not like her previous works, it's a work of art from start to finish which does not bug me. It is beautiful and perfectly captures the art of martial arts. Now if only Deren hadn't stuck us with 12 minutes of the same moves performed repetitively...
Definitely worth seeing as a work of art, which it undoubtedly succeeds in creating. However, because of just how long it is, there is no doubt a trip to the editing studios would have improved the dull repetitiveness that much of this short is.