Last week's screening was...long. Despite the short length of the movies, I think seeing one movie after another after another (not to mention barely understanding a few) took it's toll on my brain. Generally, I remember my reactions being this:

From Opus 1 to Ballet Mecanique was basically a blur of lights, shapes, and music. I didn't like Opus 1 much, strangely because the music would differ from the movement of the light-blobs in just the slightest. That may have been part of the Avant-Gardism of the piece, but I found it strangely bothersome. The one I remember the most is Richter's Rhythmus 21. It seemed to work better with the synthetic feel of the music put to it; also, after reading the selection from O'Pray, I found the idea that it could be either black on white or white on black moving in different ways made the film that much more appealing.

The next three movies were more like movies to me. I enjoyed the whimsical nature of Ghosts Before Breakfast. The mix of humor and the strange abstract made it seem, somehow, easier to relate to. Not to mention, I felt I was actually understanding what was going on. The Seashell and the Clergyman I enjoyed, probably because I was totally sucked in trying to figure out what the hell was going on. I still haven't gotten there, but I liked it nonetheless. Dali, on the other hand, not so much. I hate cutting. And blood. And veins and eyes and bodies. So, he did not get a good start with me. Otherwise, I didn't feel one way or the other about the Dali film. It was interesting enough, with the overwhelming surrealism, but definitely not my favorite of the eight.