Room Film 1973

Lost in the room, lost in the film. A study of the viewer's relationship to the fictional world of film, diegesis. Gidal himself: "This film is a consequent continuation and contraction of my film work, research which began with Room (1967). The film is not a translation of anything, it is not a representation of anything, not even of consciousness." The film represents nothing (except itself, it must be added - a topic very close to experimental cinema of that time) and only maps the room and, through its procedures, maps the ways in which the viewer allows him or herself to be drawn into its game. Slow camera voyeurism, always following partial shots of a darkened space, constantly teases the viewer's expectations, who is used to, from classic productions, crutches, instructions, and clear maps on how to navigate in the pre-camera area. Here, orientation is always difficult, made impossible, and postponed, while the inability to recognize scales and objects is used as a springboard for aesthetic values - from objects that we do not recognize, Gidal keeps only their basic contours or colors, which he further abstracts, examines, absolutizes). Ironically, sometimes Gidal lets the picture light up to the max - even then the mysterious room will not and cannot be visible and open to light. Gidal thus mostly allows almost complete darkness to rule. (10/25/2015)