Ritual in Transfigured Time (1946)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Maya Deren

Genre:

Short

Plot Keywords:

Slow Motion | Dance | Avant Garde | Surrealism | Negative Footage

Cast

Rita Christiani
Maya Deren
Anaïs Nin	...	Haughty woman
Frank Westbrook	...	Dancer

Runtime:

15 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Silent

Movie Connections:

Featured in Im Spiegel der Maya Deren (2002)

brilliant filmmaking

Ritual in Transfigured Time is like a dream, meaning that the various sequences don't seem to have any connection to each other unless you try to approach this film in a different way and not as a conventional hollywood movie.

The main character in the film is Rita Christiani who after a strange scene with Maya Deren herself who disappears startling Rita, appears in this ball with ladies and gentlemen dancing. This film has one of the most beautiful scenes in a Maya Deren's film when Rita Christiani while she's dancing she appears to float in the air.

Unlike most films that were made 50 or more years ago Ritual in Transfigured Time appears to be timeless and a lot of directors who try to do something innovative should get a lesson or 2 from Maya Deren.

I was very surprised to find out that the famous writer Anais Nin is in this movie as well (I was also very pleasantly surprised when I found out that avant garde composer John Cage was in another film by Maya Deren, "At Dark").