Meshes of the Afternoon

19431943
Not RatedNot Rated
14min

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Short Fantasy Mystery

A woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and spa... Read allA woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.A woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.

Directors
- Maya Deren
- Alexander Hammid
Writer
- Maya Deren(uncredited)
Stars
- Maya Deren
- Alexander Hammid

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win

Alexander Hammid in Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Maya Deren in Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Maya Deren in Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Maya Deren in Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Maya Deren in Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Maya Deren in Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Maya Deren in Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Maya Deren in Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Maya Deren in Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Alexander Hammid in Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

The Womanas The Woman

Alexander Hammid

The Manas The Man

Directors
- Maya Deren
- Alexander Hammid
Writer
- Maya Deren(uncredited)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

At Land

7.5

La Jetée

8.3

Witch's Cradle

6.4

Ritual in Transfigured Time

6.9

Ritual in Transfigured Time

Un Chien Andalou

7.7

Un Chien Andalou

Night and Fog

8.6

The House Is Black

7.9

The House Is Black

A Study in Choreography for Camera

6.4

A Study in Choreography for Camera

Outer Space

7.1

The Private Life of a Cat

7.3

The Private Life of a Cat

Sans Soleil

8.0

Daisies

7.4

On her way back home, a solitary woman picks up a frail flower, and then, she drops her key. Exhausted, she finally enters her home and falls asleep in a deep and comfortable armchair. However, even in her intimate dreams, an intangible and elusive dark presence blemishes her afternoon nap--she tries to catch it; but, in vain. Now, as, more and more, the already confined environment becomes a maze-like purgatory, bizarre but perfect doppelgängers of her physical self start materialising in the house, catching a glimpse of a record player playing a never-ending tune, a telephone, and a sharp, serrated bread knife. The blade thirsts for blood; the woman hungers for a way out. Can the undivided mind/matter entity escape consciousness? —Nick Riganas

experimental film national film registry flower knife stairs 19 more

Genres
Certificate
- Not Rated
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Trivia
This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Libary of Congress, in 1990.

Goofs
When The Woman tries to open the supposedly locked door for the first time, it gives way a little (too much).

Alternate versions
The original print of Meshes was completely silent (i.e., without music). Teiji Ito's score was added to a sound reprint in the 1950s. Several shots were also cut from the version with the added score.

Connections
Edited into Cinema16: American Short Films (2006)

Top review

9/10

Our Unfortunate era

Its just so unfortunate to not have 'Maya Daren' with us today. Her exemplary direction with perfect length of her movies makes her a legend in short film category.

Meshes of the Afternoon has everything that no one has ever seen before, in terms of abstraction, philosophy, movie making.. everything is just so beautiful. Her movies cannot be categorized into any available genres, cos' no on e really makes movie of her sort.

A girl entangled into a recursive event which by the directorial pattern looks like a figment of her own imagination. It seems like she is waiting for her lover or something like that and then she finds her replicas all around her haunting her and finally killing her. It also seems that Maya's other short film 'At Land' is a sequel to 'Meshes of the Afternoon' for she keeps alive the same passion and abstraction and romance in 'At Land'.

All in all, its one of the best attempts I have seen. If you believe in movies you cannot miss it.

helpful•7

3

kruttik-a
May 24, 2006

Release date
- 1943 (United States)
Country of origin
- United States
Official sites
- DVD
- Edited DVD
Language
- None
Also known as
- Redes de la tarde
Filming locations
- Maya Deren's house, 1466 North Kings Road, West Hollywood, California, USA
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Budget
- $275 (estimated)

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
- 14min
Color
- Black and White
Sound mix
- Mono
- Silent
Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1

6 Filmmaking Tips from Maya Deren

Apr 26FilmSchoolRejects.com

Watch: Connecting the Dots Between David Lynch and Maya Deren

Apr 26Filmmaker Magazine - Blog

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

Top Gap

By what name was Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) officially released in Canada in English?

More to explore

Image caption not available

10 Best Moments From the 2021 Emmys

Watch the video

Image caption not available

2021 Emmy Winners You Need to See

Watch the video

Recently viewed

Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.