Neruda: Sonnet XVII & Poem XV (Shorts)
One of the most compelling aspects of watching all of these “quarantine” films by Jeremiah Kipp was how he utilized the limitations social distancing requires to film and frame his performers. In that respect, the choice of writings to experiment with has been natural- poetry and short plays. Returning to the poetic recitations of something like “The Bells,” he has also filmed two works by Pablo Neruda, Sonnet XVII and Poem XV, and once again, the passion of the literature, and emotion of the performances, feels well-suited for this sort of filmmaking experiment.
In “Sonnet XVII,” Kipp has his actors doing more than just looking at the camera. We see a nurse, still in her scrubs and mask, looking at her phone, as if she is reading a text from a loved one- maybe the man up on the roof of a building we see the next shot. We see women expressing their feelings, maybe to one another, maybe each one to the man looking longingly out the window, or maybe just helping to read the text. The guitar music underneath sets a tone not unlike Desplat’s music did in “The Bells.” We feel enraptured by what we’re seeing, what we’re hearing, and in how the performers are feeling.
“Poem XV” is the most adventurous of these films. There are a lot of repeated passages, much like in Sonnet XVII, but here, Kipp uses that to build more cinematic flourishes into the editing that are thrilling to watch. All of the performers are looking away from camera in one way or another, rather than directly at it, giving us the impression of missing those whom they are speaking about. We see a mother holding her son tight. A man, on a bed in what looks like a hospital, struggling to hold on to his sanity. A man, near the sea, darkened clouds around him. Almost more than “The Bells,” “Poem XV” might be the most evocative expression of a poetic source on-screen I’ve ever seen, made all the more remarkable by how limited the resources Kipp had to do so. This is where true creativity comes into play; Kipp displays it in spades.
Pandemic Poetry No. II from Charlotte Purser on Vimeo.
