The Mermaid (Short)
In “The Mermaid,” a magician comes onto the screen. He removes his top hat, and pours water from a nearby aquarium into it. He then pulls out a fishing pole, and brings fish out from the water-filled hat. He puts the fish into the aquarium. All of the sudden, the setting changes, and we are in an underwater palace with a mermaid, who we see both in her underwater form, as well as in full-human form.
This is, officially, the first film I’ve watched from the French magician-turned-filmmaker Georges Méliès, whose later years were brought to light in Martin Scorsese’s recent masterpiece, “Hugo,” which was the inspiration I needed to finally seek out, and watch, some of Méliès’s films. I’m ashamed that it took me this long to do so.
One of the most fascinating aspects of “Hugo” is when Scorsese, using flashback, takes us to the set with Georges Méliès as he’s creating some of his most memorable films. “The Mermaid” is not one of those films, but just watching the four-minute film, and speculating about how Georges Méliès might have accomplished the enchanting images and illusions he created in this early film (using “Hugo” as something of a behind-the-scenes primer) makes for an enjoyable four minutes.
