I saw a short film by Maurice Pialat called Byzance (Byzantium). I was struck by the image above, it only lasts for a couple of seconds and is given no direct reference from the narrator. Then the film concludes with this statement:
But in history as in life, regret does not repair the loss of an instant, nor a thousand years make up for an hour of neglect.I didn't totally relate to the composition of this film, but if all that I remember is this image accompanied by this thought, then it becomes something more personally valuable. Over time I might even begin to remember the two moments as happening simultaneously. The image would then take on a different meaning, as would the statement, informing each other in a beautifully ambiguous way.
Perhaps the fact that they are part of the same composition already implies the possibility of this interpretation, and I'm just latching on to it.
It is interesting to think about this internal editing, holding onto the moments that mean something to us and disregarding the rest. Perhaps that is a questionable way to encounter art, or maybe it is inevitably the way that we encounter art.
I've mis-remembered a lot of scenes in films (or created whole scenes in memory which never existed in reality), and often the film-makers I appreciate the most are the ones whose films I mis-remember most radically. For me the movie is accomplishing something significant if it is creating a world so effectively in your brain that you mistake your inner world for the images/sounds on screen.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I wouldn't mind if somebody remembered on of my creations incorrectly, as long as they had a positive impression of it.
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful reflection on many levels Dave. Kept thinking of something to add but you said it all, and have left that film's impression on me (rightly or wrongly) as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad, thanks for the comment Jon.
ReplyDelete