Vitalina Varela

A few days ago I watched a film (thanks to Sue, who gave me a subscription to Criterion Collection streaming services for my birthday) called Vitalina Varela (trailer here). The entire film was made at night (except for one scene, included in the trailer). I want to do more night photography now. The light, the shadows, the play of light across the planes of people’s faces: exquisite. I’ve now watched the film twice, and parts of it three times. It is the slowest movie I’ve ever watched. Little happens, certainly nothing you could call a “plot.” And yet it is mesmerizing to me because of the photography. Frame after frame is spellbinding. One critic wrote that the movie is like a photography book that moves. Slightly.

Speaking of photography books, Blurb had a 50% off sale for 48 hours, so I started one yesterday and finished that one and two more, all of them 70+ pages, today. I took a walk around dinner time. 

Thanks to those who took the time to watch Silent Voices. I hope it touches people's emotions enough to encourage them to think about the nature of police work, the different ways it manifests in different countries.