Nocturne (Canada, 1996) Michael Crochetiere. 6 min color
Eureka. A movie that is just tailor-made for me. This gorgeous short is a tonal poem of one foggy night in Montreal. It is comprised of creative compositions of reflected light (snow from car beams, fog halos around streetlights), and best of all, superb time-lapse photography. Sometimes the motion fluctuates within the same shot; accelerated vehicles suddenly become still, or blur across the screen. At one point the soundtrack features the roar of an airplane as traffic blurs by. The canned music score (with clarinet, trumpet, and violin) sounds sped up, which perfectly suits the material. Visually and aurally, the project puts the viewer into a void in which the rules of time are upturned. Shooting during a foggy night is a filmmaker’s dream; the moisture in the air refracts enough light to maintain proper exposure, plus one has an unlimited number of chance subjects: ready-made compositions of halos and reflections. Despite the film’s playful tone, it is a haunting piece which lingers in the memory for days. Its pallette of exaggerated rhythms and light patterns perfectly capture the beauty and mystery of night time in the city.