Adelheid

 

A short excerpt from the booklet essay by Harriet Warman.


Here, Then is a film of and about, images. Since seeing it for the first time in June 2012, moments from it have been marked indelibly in my mind. A close-up of an accusatory face, a struggle in the sand marked by the shadows of abandoned construction, a hand removing the price tag from newly bought stiletto heels. These are images that have persisted in my thoughts about the best of recent international cinema, and are a reason to be grateful for the opportunity to see Here, Then again.

As its title emphatically states, Here, Then is ultimately about what it means to be present, both in body and mind. The characters are shown to drift from one place to another, seen waiting here, or walking there and expressing most essentially, a distinct apathy toward their circumstances. What they do isn’t what defines them, nor does the space they inhabit. Nevertheless, Mao Mao’s images give primacy to the specifics of each location, so that even if the characters don’t appear to understand, their presence in a certain time and place describes exactly their current state. A car park, a hotel – these are locations that exist to be inhabited temporarily, and this notion of passing through, without purpose, is entrenched within every scene in the film. Even the beach is a place on the edge of a vast expanse, representing the opportunity for change. During the café scene between Xiao Bin and Lily, and then again in a later hotel scene, the camera slowly zooms in on the windowpane, focusing on the view seen through it, in bright, blurry light. By refocusing the image to the (out of focus) exterior, mediated by glass, Mao Mao implies that the characters are longing for another present, to be there, not here, even if it’s technically no better and just as uncertain.

Harriet Warman’s complete essay, from which this excerpt is taken, appears in the booklet which accompanies the DVD release.

Contents
Disc Info

Larks Boxshot

China, 2012
Length / Here, Then:
94 minutes
Length / Special feature:
11 minutes
Sound: Original stereo 2.0
Colour
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1 / 16.9 anamorphic
Language: Mandarin
Subtitles: English (On/Off)
PAL DVD9
Region 0
RRP: £12.99
Release Date: 24 June 2013 Second Run DVD 079

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