I watched a 7-minute movie about curvy lines and it was actually okay

If you have seven minutes and want to feel like you're sitting in a dusty 1920s art gallery, you should watch this. It is worth it if you just want to see some cool old footage without having to follow a complicated plot. People who love 'vibes' or experimental stuff will dig it. If you hate movies where nothing 'happens,' you will probably want to turn it off after thirty seconds.

There is no dialogue. No actors doing big dramatic scenes. Just shapes. 🌀

It starts with these water spouts. They look like glass tubes or something. The light hits them from the side and they sparkle in a way that feels very silvery. I found myself staring at the bubbles at the bottom more than the actual fountain.

Then it jumps to a spider web. It is a really close-up shot. You can see the dew on the strands. It makes you wonder how the cameraman didn't break the web while filming it back then.

The whole point of the movie is the 'arabesque.' That is just a fancy word for a curve that flows nicely. Germaine Dulac, the director, was obsessed with this idea of 'pure cinema.' She didn't want to tell stories; she wanted to make visual music. 🎵

I noticed that the trees in this look almost like veins. Or maybe nerves. They have these thin, reaching branches that overlap against a pale sky. It’s very pretty but also a little bit lonely looking.

There is a woman in it, Marie-Anne Malleville. She doesn't really do much. She mostly just smiles and stretches her arms. It is one of those smiles that feels a bit forced, like she’s waiting for the director to say 'cut' already.

One shot I really liked was the arm on the rocking chair. It just goes back and forth. Back and forth. It creates this rhythm that matches the water at the beginning. It’s weird how a piece of furniture can feel like it’s dancing if you look at it long enough.

The film is kind of grainy. There are little scratches and bits of dust dancing on the screen. Honestly, the dust adds to the experience. It makes the whole thing feel like a ghost or a memory someone forgot to throw away.

I think the editing is the most interesting part. It’s not smooth. It’s bursty. It cuts from a flower to a woman's face and then back to the water. It feels like the movie is breathing. Or maybe it’s just trying to confuse me.

It reminded me a bit of the simplicity in The Iron Mule, even though that’s a comedy. Both films just focus on one thing and stay there. They don't try to be 'important' or 'profound explorations.' They just exist.

The water looks like hair sometimes. Especially when it’s flowing over rocks. I don't know why I thought that, but it stuck with me. 🌊

Sometimes the movie gets a bit repetitive. You see a flower, then another flower, then another one. By the fourth flower, I was ready for the spider web to come back. It’s a very short movie, but it still manages to have a slow middle part.

I wonder what people in 1929 thought of this. They probably thought it was either genius or a total waste of film. I lean somewhere in the middle. It’s nice to look at, but I wouldn't want to watch it twice in a row.

The way the light reflects off the foliage is actually stunning. It’s all black and white, but you can almost see the colors. The greys are very deep. It makes modern movies look a bit flat and plasticky by comparison. ✨

If you liked the weird energy of something like This Way Out, you might appreciate the experimental vibe here. Though this is way more serious about its 'art' than those old shorts usually are.

There is this one moment where the camera lingers on a woman's smile. It goes on for a few seconds too long. It starts to feel a bit awkward. Like you’re staring at a stranger on the subway and they won't look away. 🤨

But then it cuts back to the water and everything is fine again. The water is the real star. It never gets old to watch it move like that.

The film doesn't have a real ending. It just stops. It’s like the reel ran out or the director got tired. I actually like that. It doesn't try to wrap everything up with a bow. It just lets the shapes hang there in your mind.

I’m glad I watched it. It’s a good palate cleanser. It’s like eating a single grape instead of a whole meal. 🍇

Don't expect to understand 'why' it exists. Just look at the lines. Look at the curves. It’s a visual exercise and nothing more. And that’s fine. We need more movies that are just exercises in looking at stuff.

Anyway, it’s better than most of the things I see on TikTok these days. At least it has a consistent aesthetic. 📽️