Polyphemus (1974)

• 71%
• 1974
• Steve Osborn

An attempt to come to grips with certain apparently basic paradoxes of the cinema. Mirrors function as a metaphor for a typical approach to film : the "accurate" reflection of a subject. But a mirror is almost the definition of a falsehood - it is a seductress, constantly attracting and repelling, never allowing one to see through it. Polyphemus, the cyclops, cannot emerge from his cave; the exit is illusory, almost within his grasp, but never tangible. The film ends pessimistically, no mode of escape having presented itself save for destruction. The film is comprised of three distinct rolls : a long backlit shot, a close-up, and a chaotic walking shot. They are intercut in a simple replacement pattern, with the walking shot serving as a constant.