Mouches Volantes. 1976. USA. Directed by Larry Gottheim. 16mm. 69 min.
The title of Mouches Volantes, the second film in Gottheim’s Elective Affinities series, can be translated as “flying gnats,” and refers to an eye condition in which someone sees a phantom swarm of gnats flying in front of them. This is the film where language enters the picture with a masterpiece of linguistic and musical beauty and complexity: a narrative by Angeline Johnson, the widow of Blind Willie Johnson, given in an interview. Gottheim combines Johnson’s words with images of his own life and family, the play of light, the moon, and the waves. Presented in a vintage 16mm print.