Anagram (1981)

• 66%
• 1981
• Nicky Hamlyn

The film takes place entirely in one room and is based on a series of six repetitive shots. These shots establish a schema, a set of expectations which are then undermined. The film favours image rather than sound, in contrast to most narrative film, and the sound, where it occurs, serves only to confound or displace any meaning that is established. There are people, activities, a location and a hint of story. The film, however, cannot be mentally reassembled into anything like what it hints at in its depiction of bits of mundane domestic activity. On the contrary, it intends to confound any such attempt at a coherent reconstruction, preferring instead to leave the viewer with a lingering sense of doubt. – N.H.