Eaux d'artifice (1953)

A woman dressed elegantly walks purposely through the water gardens at the Villa d'Este in Tivoli, as the music of Vivaldi's "Winter" movement of "The Four Seasons" plays. Heavy red filters... See full summary »

Director:

Kenneth Anger

Stars:

Carmilla Salvatorelli

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview:
Carmilla Salvatorelli	...	Lady

Storyline

A woman dressed elegantly walks purposely through the water gardens at the Villa d'Este in Tivoli, as the music of Vivaldi's "Winter" movement of "The Four Seasons" plays. Heavy red filters give a blue cast to the light; water plays across stone, and fountains send it into the air. No words are spoken. Baroque statuary and the sensuous flow of water are back lit. Anger calls it "water games."

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Plot Keywords:

water | garden | fountain

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Genres:

Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 February 1970 (Finland)

Filming Locations:

Tivoli, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

12 min

Color:

Black and White Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The actress in the film is Carmilla Salvatorelli, a circus midget introduced to Kenneth Anger by Federico Fellini.

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Crazy Credits

UN FILM D'ANGER

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Connections

Featured in Magick Lantern Cycle (2009)

User Reviews

Spellbinding chiaroscuro

Somewhat atypical of Anger's films, this seems to be a pure visual treat with none of his trademark homoeroticism or occult references. To a soundtrack of "The Four Seasons", a woman wearing eighteenth century clothes wanders through a garden carrying a fan, until she comes across a fountain. She enters the waters, and fades to nothingness. Anger's camerawork is nothing less than sensational, catching the play of light on the water superbly. This short film was shot in b&w, and printed with a coloured tint, with the fan hand-tinted in a separate colour. Simple, and beautifully effective.