We watched it a few weeks ago, and Michael Scaperlanda’s post on the film reminded me of something I meant to remark on at the time, but didn’t.

Michael speaks of the length of the film, and what struck me just as much, if not more was the length of the shots. The camera lingers on everything – sky, leaves, faces, hands. The lingering disoriented me at first, so accustomed am I to quick shots, rapid cutting in film. It was almost as if my brain and my eyes have been conditioned (and they probably have) to see something new after a second (or less). When that second had passed, my eyes would almost reflexively dart away, looking for something else to see. But there was nothing else to see, so I had to look back at that same leaf or face or pair of hands.

And then, finally..I could see something.

It was actually rather disconcerting, realizing how conditioned I am, wondering, as millions of images flash by, how much I may be actually missing.

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