News From Home

For some reason as I experienced this film I found my brain going quiet for the first time in weeks..I knew that no matter what I wanted to jump up and do to keep "productive", I couldn't. I had to sit and let thoughts come and go. I was sitting waiting for something to happen..soaking it all in and zoning out at the same time.
I love walking around downtown..taking the bus..people-watching. It felt soothing in a strange way to watch the people walking and going about their daily activities..car noises..people seemingly unaware of the footage being taken..recording their slightest actions and mannerisms. It was a nice little escape. It made me think about sitting somewhere for a long amount of time and soaking up the details. But when does anyone ever have time to do that? I guess I am realizing that I need more of this in my life. More fresh air, more time to sit, to observe the world around me. I also found that watching the people go about their daily life made me think about how fleeting moments are. The man waiting for the subway was there for a moment and then was gone. Who knows where that same man is now? He is not an actor to my knowledge, just someone caught on film. Was he aware that he was captured. Did he ever see the film? Who is at that same subway station as I write this? It made me think about all the hundreds of people who use public spaces in one day. They are there for a few minutes and then are gone. We fade in and out of places we go. A small bit of history was captured in the film..a small, fairly insignificant piece of someone's life. What kind of day were they having. Were the people in the film happy or depressed about their life. And why were so many people looking down as they walked along? It was strange to be an onlooker to a scene that has no obvious value or significance besides just being. The people are just existing..the cars are just driving..and we are just observing. After I got into it I found watching this film brought up a lot of questions and wonder in me. The mother trying to communicate with her daughter and keep that connection added some tension to the film as well as a semi-understood reason for the particular footage. Not hearing the daughter's voice except through her mother's narration was interesting, too. It was one-sided and the daughter's character seemed not to have any character. We did not experience any of her emotion. This film was a combination of very personal and very impersonal. The mother added a personal narrative and the footage of random people and places took away from that. I thought the juxtaposition of the two was a great idea and made for a very unique film.