Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

58% want to see it
(2,379 ratings)

One of the most important and influential experimental films of the 20th century, Maya Deren's 18-minute feminist classic explores the interior images of a woman (played by Deren) whose daydreams restore mystery and danger to the ordinary objects of her everyday life. Deren veers away from plot to… More One of the most important and influential experimental films of the 20th century, Maya Deren's 18-minute feminist classic explores the interior images of a woman (played by Deren) whose daydreams restore mystery and danger to the ordinary objects of her everyday life. Deren veers away from plot to advance her view that a film should be like a poem: a deep tissue of images designed to examine a mood or startle us with the strangeness of the things around us. Using film as an artistic medium rather than as a vehicle for stars or story or action, Deren looks back toward the earlier European avant-garde of such filmmakers as Germaine Dulac, who believed that film most resembled the abstract yet emotional form of music. Deren's investigation of one woman's subconscious experience explicitly rejects the linear form of theater and literature in favor of the non-narrative models offered by painting, music, sculpture, or poetry. This alternative view of film as a non-narrative artform was incalculably influential on future filmmakers, and in 1990 Meshes was named to the Library of Congress's National Film Registry. ~ Leo Charney, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 18 min.
Directed By: Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid
Genres: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Special Interest

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Decades later, this avant-garde, experimental film holds up extremely well
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Maya Deren from 1943 until her death in 1961 led the avant-garde movement in cinema.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Ken S

If you're into David Lynch, this will be right up your alley.
AJ V

This is pretty good for an experimental film, but I still didn't like it.
Stella D

hypnotic, disturbing and beautiful. cool soundtrack
Arash X

A truly inspirational short film & pretty amazing for 1943 but about its somehow feminist subject matter...
Jennifer X

I'm not sure how much I like avant-garde as a whole, but there's a meticulous attention to composition that makes me want to take a blown-up screenshot of every scene and hang them all around my house. Meshes of the Afternoon was engrossing, creepy, beautiful, and weird!
Steve K

Fascinating, creepy.
Ivan D

There was a time in cable television where I got to watch experimental films from Filipino filmmakers, it is called "Alternative Cinema". That was my elementary days, and I remember being frightened by some of the works, and watching "Meshes of the Afternoon", it… More
There was a time in cable television where I got to watch experimental films from Filipino filmmakers, it is called "Alternative Cinema". That was my elementary days, and I remember being frightened by some of the works, and watching "Meshes of the Afternoon", it again evoked that kind of feeling. It was by no means a horror film, but it was countless times scarier than legitimate fright pictures, not because of boogeymen and killers, but because of the eerie aura of the whole film that does not just dare to scare physically, but mainly to touch the raw nerves of the subconscious. If the idea in "Paprika" will be true, then documented dreams of the disturbed will look something like this film, a brainchild by husband-wife Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid(Deren got the accolades more, but it was reported that the whole film was largely Hammid's idea).
Dimitris S

Felicity and terror,a free-roaming experience,where Lynch's symbols are clearly inspired by this eclectic treat.Majestic,the ritualistic linear is a significant innovation,Deren and Hammid created a short destined as classic.
Emily B

A landmark in Avant-Garde filmmaking. Surreal, creepy, and unnerving, this is a must see for anyone interested in cinema.

Read all 9 featured audience ratings

Cast

Maya Deren
as The Woman
Alexander Hammid
as The Man

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