"Bezucelná procházka" (Aimless Walk) is Alexander Hammid's first film, and it is credited with ushering in the Slovak avant-garde of the 1930s, which flourished up until the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1939. Made with very modest resources -- barely more than the camera, and a single actor -- the film commences in the city center and the camera boards a streetcar, following its dynamism to the outskirts of the city. A young man in a suit and hat becomes apparent; he looks at a woman on the train briefly before getting off at a remote, industrial spot somewhere along the Vltava River. He spends a lazy day there among other young people who are sleeping in various spots along the ground as men work on a construction project. The camera picks up dilapidated old buildings, muddy spots underfoot and other random images, and yet this section has an unquestionably documentary feel. Viewers familiar with the far more famous Deren-Hammid "Meshes of the Afternoon" will note some continuity here in certain shots and preferences of framing. The editing is quite dynamic for much of this silent short film, and while it lacks a story structure -- it is truly "aimless" as indicated in the title -- it is beautifully shot and composed, and connects the disparate realms of motion picture and fine art photography. The version I saw, prepared for German television, had a fine piano score by composer Joachim Barenz.
