Afternoon (Rifle)

Lordan Zafranović / Yugoslavia / 1967 / 15 min.

synopsis

On a hot summer day in a courtyard in Split, a game between a man and a boy reflects the contrast between life and decay that plays out around them. The banality of the act of killing and the naked female body represent levels of being that are paralleled by the use of space. Age, sexuality, and spatial elevation are combined and juxtaposed, inspiring a sense of estrangement from their structure. The play of light and shadow embodies and accepts the irrationality pointed out through the suggestive questions read in the background by the old woman.

Detail:
- “Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!”
- “Put it away, put it away! Is it young?”
- “It’s old, come on, kill it!”