"It's a long time since I've seen a film as genuinely disturbing as A Little Death. The title refers to the phrase 'un petite mort'. French slang for orgasm. This surreal film explores all the ambiguity of that phrase to devastating effect. A couple are making love. Or rather having sex – the hostility between them is palpable. The moment of climax flings them both into another dimension where the emotional savagery of their relationship is played out for real. Luscious colour photography gives way to crisp black and white, as Davison crashes through their bed into an identical room where everything, including her lover, is literally two–dimensional, bleached of life but tilled with an almost impersonal hatred. The tension that previously simmered beneath the surface is unleashed in images of extraordinary violence. Brophy, trapped in the 'wallpaper' of this unnatural room, can only scream as she takes her revenge. This ambitious script is well supported by its technically immaculate execution. It is tightly constructed, beautifully edited and the superb soundtrack is unusually effective, an integral part of the film rattler than (as too often happens) an afterthought. Much of the power of the film has to do with its purely visual logic, it didn't start to make sense to me until I stopped trying to figure out what was going on and just let the images wash over me. This is one of those rare films that can stand repeated viewings (providing you can) and serious philosophical debate, despite the fact its violent take on gender relations is more than a little disturbing. A Little Death is an uncommonly brave and passionate piece of filmmaking that stays in the mind long after it's been seen."
(Pavement magazine, 1995)
Fig.1 Simon Perkins and Paul Swadel (1995). "A Little Death", James Wallace Productions: 16mm, 11 minutes. [A Little Death externalises conflict between characters through the use of physical obstacles and camera perspectives. The film is an evolution of the "Into The Void" project.]
Fig.2 Natalie Robertson (1995). Josephine Davison is confused to find herself on a photocopied floor.
16mm | 1994 | A Little Death | another dimension | Aotearoa New Zealand | art direction | Chris Peacock | cigarette | Dave Whitehead | David Reid | disturbing | disturbing tale | drama | emotional savagery | extraordinary violence | fairy tale | fantasy about death | film | formal conceit | high concept | high concept film | hostility | impersonal hatred | interzone | Into The Void | James Wallace | Jeanne Moreau | Jed Brophy | Josephine Davison | kiss | kiwi short | kiwi short films | moment of climax | Natalie Robertson | New Zealand cinema | New Zealand Film Archive | nz short film | orgasm | Paul Swadel | Pavement (magazine) | personal film | Peter Bannan | Peter Evans | petite mort | photocopy | rough sexual encounter | sadistic | short film | Simon Perkins | speculative fiction | story space | The Coming of Age of The New Zealand Short Film | unnatural room | visual logic | wallpaper | wordless |
16mm |