‘At Land’: Maya Deren’s unforgettable experiments with time and space
Often regarded as one of the most important figures within the landscape of avant-garde cinema, Maya Deren was undeniably a titan. Known for her innovative approaches to editing and the incorporation of complex philosophical frameworks, Deren’s cinematic expressions have inspired countless directors, but nobody has been able to surpass her brilliance. Throughout her illustrious career, the pioneering auteur kept pushing the boundaries of the medium.
Whenever there is any conversation about Deren’s contribution to film history, the work that inevitably gets mentioned is Meshes of the Afternoon. Considered by many to be her magnum opus, the 1943 masterpiece brought something new to the table and completely revitalised the general perception of the potential of the cinematic medium. However, Deren’s filmography is full of fascinating additions that continue to perplex modern audiences.
One such film is the 1944 gem called At Land, starring Deren as a mysterious woman who washes up on a beach and embarks on a bizarre journey. Constantly oscillating between different domains of the time-space fabric, the woman moves through a strange world like an untethered spirit. Throughout her life, Deren maintained that the purpose of cinema was to create experiences that other mediums can’t offer, and that’s exactly what At Land does, constructing an impenetrable labyrinth that is meant to mimic psychological functions.
When asked about the subtextual elements of At Land and the unique journey undertaken by the protagonist, Deren explained: “Meshes of the Afternoon externalises an inner world to the point where it is confounded with the external world. At Land has little to do with the inner world of the protagonist; it externalises the hidden dynamic of the external world, and here the drama results from the activity of the external world.”
According to Deren, the unsettling ecosystems of the spaces inhabited by the woman are enough to sustain the dramatic force: “It is as if I had moved from a concern with the life of a fish, to a concern with the sea, which accounts for the character of the fish and its life. And Rituals pulls back even further, to a point of view from which the external world itself is but an element in the entire structure and scheme of metamorphosis: the sea itself changes because of the large changes of the earth.”
At Land is an important work within the corpus of the great American avant-garde tradition, showcasing how the film medium could be sculpted to subvert the unity of time and space while subscribing to the incomprehensible logic of dreams. It also might have been the inspiration for Ingmar Bergman’s iconic ‘Chess Match with Death’ scene in The Seventh Seal, proving that the world of cinema will forever be indebted to Maya Deren.
Watch the film below.
