Film (1965)
Addressing issues of perception, Film is as fundamental an event to the history of film as to the potential of the short film in garnering a larger public perception. Silent, aside from a women that whispers, “Sssh!” the short is twenty-two minutes long and shot in black and white 35mm.
The script was written by Samuel Beckett in 1963 and shot in Greenwich Village, New York in 1964. Beckett was 58 years old when he made this, his only, and somewhat reluctant journey to the United States. Buster Keaton was cast in the leading role and Alan Schneider, who had directed a number of Beckett’s stage plays, would also direct the author’s only film.
In Beckett’s own words, “It’s about a man trying to escape from perception of all kinds – from all perceivers – even divine perceivers... But he can’t escape from self-perception. It is an idea from Bishop Berkeley, the Irish philosopher and idealist, ‘To be is to be perceived.’ The man who desires to cease to be must cease to be perceived. If being is being perceived, to cease being is to cease to be perceived.”
Film was originally supposed to be part of a trilogy commissioned by Barney Rosset of Grove Press, now considered one of the most influential and controversial American publishers of the 20th century. Harold Pinter and Eugene Ionesco were asked to write the other two scripts, however, in the end only Film was created.
The short encompasses as surprising breadth of Beckett’s literary themes. Beckett himself declared Film a failure, but then again - there’s always a ‘then again’ with Beckett - a certain thematic ‘going on in failure’ defines his work.
Jennifer Dawson
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Grading
- Story A
- Acting A-
- Visuals A-
- Originality/Innovation A
- Enjoyability A-
- Overall A-
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