Sunday, September 19, 2010

Time's arrow reversed

I had meant to post this a few weeks back, but wasn't able to find it online.  I am indebted to occasional Froogville reader Nick (or perhaps a regular reader but infrequent commenter?) for passing it on to me.  It is one of my very favourite Larkin poems.


As Bad As A Mile

Watching the shied core
Striking the basket, skidding across the floor,
Shows less and less of luck, and more and more

Of failure spreading back up the arm
Earlier and earlier: the unraised hand calm,
The apple unbitten in the palm.


Philip Larkin  (1922-1985)


And - finally, after years of occasional fruitless searching - I've found this, Renaissance, an early film by Walerian Borowczyk (who would later become famous/notorious for quirky and macabre erotica like The Beast), dimly remembered from a festival of short animations I saw at the Phoenix cinema in Oxford while an undergraduate two dozen or more years ago. It is, I think, the best piece I've ever seen using the 'time goes backwards' device.
[It's posted by a user called The Motion Brigades, "dedicated to showcasing stop motion animation from the masters of the genre, with focus on rare and hard to find titles". I can see I'm going to be spending a lot of time noodling around their collection. I might have to have another 'Short Animation Festival' on here soon!]




And, well, I am hesitant to recommend this, since I absolutely loathe Coldplay, but ... it is another stunningly well executed example of this idea: the video for their song The Scientist, directed by Jamie Thraves.


[And do you remember this poem of my own on a similar theme - not following time backwards, but bringing it to a standstill, in the way that only a really good kiss can?]

2 comments:

Canadian Drugs Online said...

Back when it was on PBS NET program, which includes foreign films. I was about 9 years, and I still remember parts of this movie (I can not say that many of the films). Thanks for posting it.

Nick said...

Occasional reader, extremely infrequent commenter (as this late comment shows), mainly because I have little to say. Any case, great film, and I'm looking forward to another "Short Animation Festival." Apart from Svankmajer and Brakhage, I really have no guideposts for short films, though I certainly will hunt for more of Borowczyk's work (just watched Les Jeux des Anges and now want to find it in better-than-youtube quality). Thanks.