At
first you can see on
the screen just this: a bunch of letters composed in a strange way.
It's hard to combine them into meaningful words, because these words
seem quite strange. The most strange is the triple S. This is a
rarity, great rarity, something unique. For the first time you can
see three consonants together, in one cluster. Probably the effect of
hissing is not the point here, because this is not the fable about a
snake, quite popular in the beyond-fence countries. So you begin to
suspect this strange arrangement is not accidental – it seems to be
in a relation to what will appear on the screen after. This is what
can happen in the case of titles. Sometimes the title part is more
interesting then the film itself. We shall see what will happen. If
the title part is almost a separate film, it is usually different
then the main film. So you expect these letters will disappear and
something totally different will appear on the screen. And you are
right – something different will appear, however not totally
different: although the letters are replaced with pictures, the
screen is still divided into the same number of squares. And the
number of the squares is thirty two. This is not so due to the number
of letters and spaces between words. Because the number of the
letters is not accidental. There are thirty two aspects of everynight
life in Bookina Fassso. What are these aspects? Well, it would be the
easiest to make the list of them, for example: sleeplessness, dreams,
pollutions, nightmares, too-short-quilt... and so on – more or
less. Something of that sort. Wouldn't it be indignant? Wouldn't it
mean we doubt in the basic mental abilities of a spectator, we fear
that the audience could not decipher the most simple associations and
metaphors? It would. So you have to toil and torment a bit. But only
a bit. The task won't be really difficult, and you will need forces
for other puzzles and problems. The composition of the screen (though
there is nothing special and unusual in it – this is a well known
effect, however has never been thought of so consequently and
transformed from an effect into a principle) indicates you will have
to deal with some other formal rigours of fundamental importance for
the whole film. And this is really so. You will notice later there
are no actors. Neither professional, nor amateurs. Ordinary
monitoring cameras have been installed in thirty two places – they
are not hidden. Everybody knows they are and nobody suffers of it,
like nobody pays attention to cameras installed in a bank or mall,
unless he has bad intentions. Thirty two films shown simultaneously
on one screen are just ordinary recordings of what's going on within
the scope of a single camera from dusk till dawn. The cameras have
been installed neither haphazardly nor intentionally, according to an
exact plan. Each camera was installed at day by a group consisting of
three workers, and they had only two hours to make everything work
properly. So, within two hours the team had to find the place which
seemed for them to be right and install the camera. There had been no
pre-sellection. The teams made no agreements, so it might happen they
installed the cameras one near another or one in front of another
thus making them observe each other. There was no time to check
everything properly, so errors and troubleshooting were not a
surprise and caused nobody's irritation. Anyway, it is one of the
aspects.... gosh! I was not to reveal the aspects! ….. Next day the
cameras were moved to some other places, to record the next night in
Bookina Fassso. I draw your attention that installing cameras in the
light is one of those formal rigours which is a result of the
accepted principle of limited accidentality and limited
premeditation. The recorded material has not been edited or mixed,
nothing has been cut away, nothing has been added. The only technical
operation made was to put thirty two films together on one screen to
enable watching them at the same time. However it doesn't mean the
whole collected material has been used in the films. We don't know
how many nights have been recorded. At least more than a dozen, so
EVERYNIGHT LIFE IN BOOKINA FASSSO consists of the first few nights;
EVERYNIGHT LIFE IN BOOKINA FASSSO 2 consists of the middle few
nights; EVERYNIGHT LIFE IN BOOKINA FASSSO 3 consists of the last few
nights. Provided that there will be the sequels. Yet it must be
provided so, because sequels seem inevitable due to the inevitable
success of this film. Why inevitable? Because it is the cheapest
revolution in the history of cinematography! Even a
cheaper variant
could be possible. There's only one camera. It is installed by the
rules described earlier. Next night the team moves it to another
place. The team doesn't watch the material recorded during the day,
nor the members can ramble and hang around Bookina Fassso when the
camera is working not to make any spot catch their eyes... But it is
not so sure whether this variant is cheaper, due to much longer
production. The sequels are inevitable also due to some other
reasons. The first part hasn't solved the fascinating mystery of
triple S. Well, it eliminates the well known, among the beyond-fence
peoples, fable about a snake, and suggests it may be an attempt to
avoid not nice associations with ASS, however it is only a suggestion
and suspicion, nothing that could satisfy us.
So, what does the
everynight life in Bookina Fassso look like? Hard to tell. This is
caused by the fact the film shows only a few nights. And we don't
know what their relation to other nights is. They could be extremely
stormy or extremely calm. It could be raining and somebody watching
it could come to the conclusion Bookina Fassso is unacceptably wet
country, while it is really very dry country where rain is quite rare
phenomenon, an anomaly surprising all inhabitants enormously, even
stupefying them. This obstacle may be overcome when all 365 nights
would be recorded. Unfortunately it only would seem so. One can't
tell much about other years, which may differ significantly from each
other. Let's assume that a few nights we have is a sample enough
representative for a period between two catastrophes, assuming also
that after a catastrophe the country comes back to the life style
from before the catastrophe, what may be a wrong assumption although
based on well documented, many years lasting observations – also
well documented is the opposite assumption about the catastrophe
being a turning point in the history. And what has been revealed? The
inhabitants of Bookina Fassso write books. All of them. Everywhere.
All the time. Yes. They do nothing else – they only write books. Or
they pretend they write.
I wonder what catastrophe
made them write books. I also wonder what catastrophe will make them
stop to write and what they will do instead. Will they read what they
have written?
OK. It's enough of
considerations so introductory and so unnecessary. Let's take a look
at the square number 27. What can we see? Can we see anything? No, we
can see nothing. And how about the square number fourteen? Also
nothing. And the square number eighteen? Nothing. And exactly the
same in the case of the squares number seventeen and nineteen. The
night in Bookina Fassso is very very dark. Don't they have
electricity? Do they have no candles? Maybe they don't know fire?
Maybe they haven't invented a torch so far? If they write, their eyes
should shine like torches and their eyes should lit pages where they
write. Unless they write with their eyes closed. In an ecstasy. Like
musicians used to play – they turn into hearing, entirely, and they
don't need eyes. Eyes only disturb them. They are but sounds and
images are not necessary. So here people should be words. They should
be entire phrases, sentences ....... Oh, something can be seen over
there. It's supposed to be a window. Yes, probably this is a window.
And there is a lamp in this window. Yes. The lamp reflects in the
pane – a diagonal white line. Under this line: probably a face.
Unclear and smudged. With white outline. Probably grey hair and grey
beard. Under this face: very bold, thick, horizontal line with the
ends fading out in the dark, turning into blackness. A glow on
something that could be a blackboard. Or a vertical desktop. Kind of
pad? Maybe he has put a paper sheet on this desktop? Is he writing?
Is he drawing? He's thinking. He's hesitating: to destroy it with
awkward words, or with awkward strokes? to leave it blank? .......
Write. Write. Write. Write. What can I write about? ....... This is
what he is thinking about or maybe he's thinking about something
else? His eyes are dark stains, and his mouth wries illegibly .......
All of them are sleeping and only he wants to write something? Or
maybe he's falling asleep. He's fighting against the invading sleep.
He's rocking. Can't sit straight. He's reeling. Very soon his hand
will fall asleep and will draw and write nonsenses, or dreamsenses
....... But when he switches off his lamp, somebody else in some
other place will switch on another lamp. Let's wait. We shall see.
So, don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep. Don't fall asleep as
usually in the most interesting moment....
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