Unglassed Windows Cast a Terrible Reflection by Stan Brakhage

I just saw this wonderful film (paired with Pasolini's La Ricotta) at The Artist's Institute at 163 Eldridge St. The films were shown in conjunction with R. Trockel's art work being displayed in the gallery, but I enjoyed them independently. There was a discussion after film led by the curator F. Meade, and guests U. Müller and K. Sanborn.
http://www.theartistsinstitute.org/MEDIA/PDF/Cine%20club.pdf
http://www.theartistsinstitute.org/main.html?id=54

This is one of Brakhage's first films, which he made in his 20. It is black and white, silent. As I was explained, being a student, Brakhage could not afford color film and sound sync.

The film starts with a group of young people in a car traversing a rural area. There are 6 passengers inside: a driver, who is left behind when the car breaks, two girls, three guys. Their characters are made distinctive from the start:
-the guys are rivals, the good one and the bad one;
-the girl with dark hair - the restless butterfly, flirting, laughing and jumping around, amusing herself and eager to explore new territory;
-two passive characters: the unintrusive reader of 'The War and Peace' (?) and the quiet girl, sewing silently on the back seat,  picking flowers, romantic, indecisive.

When I contemplated the film's title, I imagined the frame that casts a cross-like shadow over the characters. It can also signify a disrupt boundary between the inside and outside (from the discussion), the dream intermixing with reality. There are also physical unglassed windows in the film. One girl steps on it while exploring the house.

For me, this endless dilapidated labyrinth-like structure, with connecting corridors, holes in the walls, locked doors, ladders, broken windows, and dramatic sun light, comes from a dream and is a subject to psychoanalysis.

A sense of conflict arises when we first notice glances of the guy in a black jacket watching the butterfly-girl. He is jealous, intrusive, aggressive. Each character plays a double role. Two main male characters are rivals and at the same time there is a sense of attraction between them. The girl is a provocateur and a mediator. A few times when the conflict is about to erupt, she resolves the tension.

The car breaks, the dark haired girl urges the rest of the group to go ahead and explore territory. The group comes to the maze-like house, wanders around, exchanges glances and energy, communicates, but since the film is silent, we can only guess or see the effect of their communication.

Having gone to a remote part of the house, the girl gets scared and screams. We hear her screaming just like we "hear" many other sounds in the film. The rivals rush to rescue. We hear one of the guys reproach her by observing his disgusted face, cruel line of his lips. The conflict intensifies. One of the guys grabs a brick but is stopped by the girl.

On their way back, the good guy trips over debris and kicks the bad guy who is walking ahead of him. The bad guy, enraged, hits and kills him. After that, he climbs upstairs and jumps from the attic.

The girls are shown wandering through birches calling the men. The reader - is out of conflict, relaxed and contemplative.

I greatly enjoyed the film and - thanks to the discussion - I understood it much better.
Below is an excerpt from the discussion:


Links:
http://nextprojection.com/2011/11/26/subversive-saturdays-unglassed-windows-cast-a-terrible-reflection/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Brakhage_filmography