(written and directed by david ondaatje)
Story about a Latvian man's anxiety during a visit to the Dentist expressed through a series of bizarre hallucinations involving the dental assistant (Karen Black). Experiments with visual and other film elements to differentiate a series of dreams. A tribute to the technical innovations of Alfred Hitchcock. 12 minutes.
Official Selection:
Venice International Film Festival, Italy.
Cork Film Festival Ireland.
Huy World Festival of Short Films, Belgium.
Short Pictures Int'l Film Festival.
Oslo Int'l Film Festival, Norway.
Karlovy Vary Int'l Film Festival, Czech.
Awards
The New York Festivals, NY (Bronze Medal)
Over black, the film begins as we hear but do not see two elderly voices speaking a foreign language (Latvian). There is then a single long black and white shot of the elderly foreign couple, Kristo (Ernie Vincent) and Valda (Janet Rotblatt) walking toward us down a long dark hallway continuing to speak to each other in Latvian during the opening titles. While we have no idea what they are saying, it is clear they are concerned and agitated. Finally, the couple stops…we see fear on their faces. References the opening of The Lady Vanishes.
A series of shots as Kristo (Ernie Vincent) waits and is ultimately woken by the Dental Assistant (Karen Black). Includes series of dissolves between clock paintings by Salvador Dali. References Spellbound.
Kristo (Ernie Vincent) wakes while seated in the dentist chair. Karen Black gives an outstanding performance as the Dental Assistant recounting an accident that occurred earlier in the day. Communicates Kristo’s increasingly terrified POV. References Blackmail.
This scene is almost entirely an abstraction; a montage of violent hallucinations representing Kristo’s (Ernie Vincent) worst fears as he waits for the dentist to appear. References Spellbound, The Man Who Knew Too Much (both versions), Strangers on a Train, Psycho.
Explanation of how the film is structured as a series of dreams, one within another. Kristo’s (Ernie Vincent) deepening fears are expressed visually as he moves deeper into the Dentist’s office. Each dream has a different ‘look’ (black + white, color, sepia/orange, grainy/skip bleach) and is more frightening than the last.
Karen Black (Dental Assistant) is excellent as the frighteningly distant dental assistant and provides an additional link as a tribute to Hitchcock. Tells story of working on Hitchcock’s last film.
Variety
Venice fest to shine light on short films
Filmwaves Magazine
Short Films at the 55th Venice Film Festival