Crocodile Eyes

What is it that we are looking for at the movies? Well, different things, of course. Story, spectacle and escapism might be popular answers. But even if we agree that Ingrid Veninger’s experimental film doesn’t score high by these metrics, it’s worth pausing to reflect that “story” is itself just a vehicle towards something else. What actors, storytellers and filmmakers strive for is, when you get down to it, something relatable… something real. And that’s what Veninger sets out to do here: to make a film comprising 100 “real moments”. But then, what makes a moment “real”, she wonders?

Drawing on what used to be called home movies and her own videos and cell phone footage of interactions with her immediate family (her grown son and daughter; granddaughter Freya; her mother and father), Veninger draws us into the intellectual challenge of creating structure — meaning — from scenes that are not tied by a narrative through line.

The answer is suggested by two year old Freya. What does she want to be when she grows up? A mom. What is she afraid of? Being alone.

Veninger is a mom and a daughter and she is ready to reflect on the cycle of birth and death: the film contains footage of her giving birth, and footage of her father’s last breath. If that’s too real for you, watch out! (But also: what are you hiding from?) This is a film about momentous and mundane minutes, a film about “personal space” and “family time”, about the seemingly insatiable impulse to record, and the gift of memories, shared.

Apr 13: Zoom interview with director Ingrid Veninger