DbcultAccessing Vault...
5.8/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.8/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Nothing Ever Happens remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
So, Nothing Ever Happens. The title itself is a bit of a wink, isn't it? Because, oh boy, things certainly *do* happen here. Is it for everyone? No, definitely not. If you want explosions or a clear-cut hero's journey, you'll probably hate it. But if you’re into just watching people *be*, watching small lives intersect, then yeah, give it a shot. It's for the patient ones. 🤔
The film juggles a few different lives. You've got Clarence Rock, a man trying to make the most of his last days. Then there's Curtis Karpe, a jewel thief, who sort of drifts into the orbit of Geraldine Dvorak, a dancer. And off to the side, some big business deal is brewing. It’s a lot of separate threads, all tangled up in the same city. The film doesn't try to neatly tie them all together, which is honestly refreshing.
Rock’s character, the dying man, he’s just trying to live. Not dramatically, but in tiny ways. I remember this one scene where he’s trying to sketch a pigeon in the park. His hands, they're a bit shaky. Lines on the page, all over. He just keeps at it. A tiny defiance, almost invisible. And the way he just watches things. Like he’s trying to memorize every bit of light on the brick wall across the street. ✨
Then there’s Karpe, the thief. He's not some slick mastermind. He seems more like a guy doing it out of habit, or maybe just... to fill time. You see him lift a small trinket, almost absentmindedly. It’s not a big heist, just a quiet, almost sad little grab. He’s often just lurking. You can almost feel him trying to disappear into the background. But then he spots Dvorak's character, the dancer. And things get a little less invisible for him.
Dvorak's dancer character, she’s really something. Her movements are so fluid, even when she's just walking down a street. There's this moment where she’s practicing in a studio, and the camera just holds on her, just her feet, for a surprisingly long time. It’s not graceful like you’d expect from a ballet. More like she’s wrestling with the air. It’s a bit messy, actually. And *that's* what makes it feel so... real. The sound of her heavy breathing. Almost too loud, really.
Karpe ends up following her, not in a creepy way, but more like a shadow. He sits in the back of a cafe she frequents. Doesn't talk to her. Just watches. One time, she drops a single rose petal from her hair onto the table, and he picks it up later, puts it in his pocket. It's a strangely tender moment. No dialogue, just that small gesture. You wonder what he's thinking. What *she's* thinking, maybe. She doesn't seem to notice him anyway.
The business deal stuff with Charles Judels and Maurice Cass, it mostly felt like background noise. Important to *them*, sure, but the film keeps it at a distance. You hear snippets of urgent talk about "contracts" and "deadlines" while people around them are just living. A kid drops an ice cream cone right next to their intense conversation. It’s almost comedic how little the world cares about their big stakes. That felt deliberate, like a gentle jab from the filmmakers. 🤨
The movie is full of these small, quiet observations. A door slamming unexpectedly loud. A conversation where one person is clearly not listening. The way the light hits a dusty window pane. It’s not trying to hit you over the head with big themes. It just shows you things. It lets moments hang, sometimes for a beat too long. That can feel awkward, but then it becomes something else, something kinda profound in its quietness.
There's a scene near the end where Rock's character, the dying man, is just sitting on a bench. The thief walks past, just a blur in the background. The dancer crosses the street a few minutes later. They don't interact. Their paths just... cross. It really underlines the title. On the surface, nothing big happens *between* them. But their individual worlds are spinning. And that's the whole point, I guess.
The pacing is slow. You gotta be ready for that. It’s not for everyone, as I said. There are long stretches of just watching, letting the atmosphere soak in. Sometimes I found myself checking my watch, not gonna lie. But then a small, unexpected detail would grab me again. Like the sound of a distant foghorn that just *fits* the mood. Or the way The Turmoil seemed to play in the background on a TV in one scene – a quick, blink-and-you-miss-it detail. 📺
It stays with you. Not a huge plot twist reason. More those tiny, almost forgotten moments. The film argues, gently, that even when we think "nothing ever happens," life is still full of small, unfolding stories. And sometimes, those are the ones that matter most. ✨
IMDb 4.9
1926
Community
Log in to comment.
