AS I WAS MOVING AHEAD OCCASIONALLY I SAW BRIEF GLIMPSES OF BEAUTY (USA/2000/JONAS MEKAS)

Jonas Mekas is one of the most prolific artists working with film, and even to this day he keeps himself occupied with projects at the grand old age of eighty-seven. His four-hour magnum opus As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses Of Beauty narrates the past thirty years of his life through a careful compilation of family footage, accompanied by commentary, music and audio clips. Through Mekas’ meticulous editing, positioning disparate events side by side, precious memories lose their preciousness and become performances of ‘real life’ – a family excursion is no longer a fun day out, rather a beautiful silent play of light and colour.

Mekas, a man haunted by the spectre of memory, achieves the rare feat of putting himself on camera without needing to be in front of it. His juxtaposition of images is never gratuitous or sentimental, even as flowers superimpose images of children, and although names of relatives and friends are mentioned, the priority is never to learn exactly what role these people play in his life, rather to learn what sort of people they are or were. Any budding artist working in 8mm and 16mm would do well to watch Mekas’ work to learn how to make true meaning of home video footage. In spite of, or perhaps thanks to its extensive length, As I Was Moving Ahead is a wholly immersive experience – while these may not be memories from our own lives, they will be by the end of the film.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN (USA/1996/JONAS MEKAS)

Shot on 16mm, Happy Birthday To John documents the events of October 9^th, 1972 – John Lennon’s 32^nd birthday, and also the opening of an exhibition displaying the works of Lennon and wife Yoko Ono. The occasion brings together many of the colourful characters that made up their social circle at the time: Andy Warhol, Allen Ginsberg, George Maciunas. The film opens with a speedy montage supposedly summarising the experience of the exhibition, as Lennon describes his experiences with underground filmmaking. Title cards connote the group’s cultural regality: “The kings gather... Syracuse Oct.9, 1972”, “Poets & knights pay honors as plebeians watch”. Suddenly, the affectations of the gallery are dropped, and we are in someone’s living room. A cake topped with an edible acoustic guitar wishes John a happy birthday from “Yoko and the rest of the world”, and the group begins improvising songs. The soundtrack unchanging, we are then treated to a brief history of John and Yoko’s performance work, followed by concert footage of Lennon and Stevie Wonder, amongst others. The film ends ominously as we are transported forwards to December 8^th, 1980, the day of Lennon’s death, as adoring fans pay their respects in Central Park.

With this seemingly ad hoc documentary, director Jonas Mekas, known for his diaristic filming style, creates a fitting commemoration to the man in question without sensationalising the events. Mekas allows the images to speak independently of the soundtrack, which serves merely to underline the sentiment of the event. A poignant, valuable artefact.