The Mechanics of Love

A film poem; a zither plays. A woman lies naked in bed. A man removes his clothes, joins her, and they kiss. Images fill the frame, at first still lifes of common objects: a door knob, glasses, a cactus, a lamp. Then simple actions: a drawer pulled out, a letter mailed. On the soundtrack, with the music, the man and woman comment about mundane things – unconnected phrases. The actions on screen slowly become more rapid and forceful: a bird in a cage flitting about, water boiling, a drill bit biting into wood; the dialogue has stopped. Sheets on a line blow in the wind; a subway train shoots by. The images slow. Voices of the man and woman, off-screen, return. We see them lying side by side.