NFR Project: “Eaux d’artifice”
Dir: Kenneth Anger
Pho: Kenneth Anger
Ed: Kenneth Anger
Premiere: 1953
12 min.
A lovely little mood piece from filmmaker Kenneth Anger, best known for his filmic explorations of gay identity and sexuality.
Here he shoots a montage centered on a figure in 18th-Century dress wandering through the gardens and around the water fountains of the Villa d’Este in Italy. The Baroque decorations of the site are highlighted, and the film moves serenely from shot to shot, scored to the music of Vivaldi.
Anger used a little person as his costumed figure, the circus performer Carmilla Salvatorelli. This choice makes the dimensions of the gardens seem larger than they really are. The film is focused on the interplay of light and water; slow-motion cascades sparkle in the sunlight (or is it moonlight?). It’s a meditative visual poem.
The NFR Project is one writer’s attempt to review all the films listed in the National Film Registry in chronological order. Next time: From Here to Eternity.
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