Review for ‘‘A Curious Woman’’ by Kelby Thwaits
The inherent eroticism built upon Paris over centuries has often been the subject of stories from the written word to the screen. Kelby Thwaits and Angela Manke have elected to join this storytelling tradition in the most non-traditional way they could, crafting an experimental, visceral aesthetic experience where female sexuality and the most storied city in the world intertwine.
Plot-wise, simplicity reigns supreme in A Curious Woman's almost entirely wordless runtime. From the first second the tone is set, and the interplay between dreamy daytime sequences of the city of Paris and saturated, heated, distorted shots of our protagonist's carnal desires established. Throughout the short, Manke's character's calm contour as she wanders Paris is juxtaposed with all-consuming images of desire, in an exploration of one of the most fundamental human emotional states that brings to mind the sincerity and aesthetic boldness of Gaspar Noé. After all, who among us hasn't experienced the dissonance between day-to-day serenity and deep seated desire, burning at the back of our minds and turning everyday images & occurrences into erotic allegories, as the short eloquently portrays through deft editing.
Speaking of the film's technical aspects, it's one of the most visually pleasing shorts we've had the opportunity to experience recently, and not just because of the beautifully photographed, on-location pastel shots, but in equal parts due to the intercut surrealist elements that visually amp the sexual tension as we head towards a climax of the protagonist's desire.
The acting, subdued though it may be, serves the central theme well, and the ending works as both an homage to the likes of nouvelle vague romances as well as a valve that begins to release the tension built up along 8 minutes.
All in all, A Curious Woman sets out to photograph an emotional state central to the human experience, and decides to set it against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The result is impressive given the short runtime and the two-person workforce behind it, and we hope to see more explorations of this kind from the duo.
