Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein states in “Firm Form: Essays In Film Theory” that “Montage is an idea that arises from the collision of independent shots—shots even opposite to one another: the “dramatic” principle”. Eisenstein believes that if placed on top of each other, two photographed immobile images may result in the appearance of movement. Eisenstein’s philosophy aligns with Kuleshov, a Soviet film theorist who invented the idea that juxtaposing two shots can create greater meaning via the relationship established between them. In his classic masterpiece Battleship Potemkin, Eisenstein created an intense and violent sequence with this principle of dialectic montage. The constant change between shots—transitions from long sequences to quick jump cuts—structures like a roller-coaster and keep the viewer’s eyes wide open. An example for his brilliant use of montage is the shot of three stone lions in different positions: the first is asleep, the second awakened, and the third looking up. Influenced by the Kuleshov’s effect, Eisenstein used these shots in a way that gives the viewer an impression of a lion from sleeping to awakening to rising up, representing a symbol of Russian people are triggered and determined to fight against Czar. Without a doubt, Eisenstein’s editing technique serves as mental stimulation rather than a narrative medium, enabling him to spread out political propaganda through emotional catalyst to the viewer. Similarly, early Stan Brakhage films bear the influence of Sergei Eisenstein’s theories about montage—triumphing the importance of editing in the process of making films, the power of the juxtaposition to signify intellectual and ideological meaning. Many aspects of Brakhage’s experimental works include fast-paced montage, hand-held camera, painting on film, superimposition, time lapse and jump cuts. Among these, rapid montage is probably the most visible and interesting aspect of Brakhage's filmmaking style. The perception of imagery in Brakhage's works bring the cinematic experience to a different level: An image that the viewer observes on screen may, in fact, result from the movements within a shot. Moreover, there is no clear sense of time or of whether a coherent event might occur. Many of Brakhage’s films transitions from shot to shot so quickly that it is impossible to keep track of what they show. Brakhage’s experimental works have gone beyond the conventions, breaking down continuity with each shot refusing to connect conceptually with each other. Among Brakhage’s tireless body of works, I have found Window Water Baby Moving so astonishing, overwhelming, mind-blowing and raw. The confrontational experience of witnessing a new life being brought into the world in this breathtaking experimental work is undoubtedly achieved and lifted by the power of montage.
Brakhage’s Window Water Baby Moving is filled with gorgeous, vibrant home video footages: warm, orange-ish colors, water permeating over skin, eyes, smiles, touchings and visible appearance of a baby’s head in the womb—all of these imageries capture the stunning process of a child being born. The opening diagonal shot shows the window, which is then followed by a montage sequence of the sunlight reflecting on the water in a bathtub where Brakhage’s pregnant wife, Jane is bathing. Abrupt shots demonstrating Jane’s beauty, her skin and facial expression is placed next to shots of her struggle and pain when giving birth to the baby. Jane’s body is in motion together with the rapid appearance of water and light. At the moment when Jane’s is in her labor, Brakhage cut from shots of her painful expression to her smiling face from earlier footages, mixing the window and water shots in-between. This utilization of montage somehow helps alleviate the distressing experience and allows the poetic aspect of the film to expand. Later, the viewer sees the shot of Jane and Brakhage embracing each other appear between shots in the bathtub of their hands. The combination of these shots creates a montage sequence that possesses the ability to evoke deep affection, intimate connection between Brakhage’s work and the viewer without any necessary soundtrack. In addition, the lighting in the shots of Jane giving birth is immensely pure and natural, elevating the close-ups of her body as the baby slowly emerges from the womb. Brakhage continues to combine such sensitive shots with fleshly bathroom scenes so as to recall the joyful memories they both shared and waited till this momentous event of a new life being introduced to the world. The last sequence of Window Water Baby Moving contains a series of heartfelt moments of Brakhage holding his newborn in inexplicable happiness. Captured by Jane after she had given birth, these shots wrapped up the movie in a profoundly humane and aesthetic way. As a consequence, what can be clearly seen about the success of Window Water Baby Moving is its montage and the way the images are edited together.
After all, Window Water Baby Moving is an emotional attachment that could only be created under the hands of Brakhage and his love to Jane. The film intertwines between the tenderness of a romantic relationship and the roughness of labor, both reinforcing and enriching the other. There are not so many films that address sex and childbirth as vividly and poetically as Brakhage’s does. What makes Window Water Baby Moving so special is that it gives other men and women an unique experience to sympathize with the process of giving birth. One remarkable aspect that adds to the distinctive beauty of Window Water Baby Moving is the close-ups of Jane: Her eyes closed and her eyebrows distorted in a way that shows as much blissful as suffering. The film’s portrait of a mother whose considerable care for her child while the baby is in the womb adds a spectacular layer to the viewer’s emotions. The movie also captures child birth at its rawness, all the fluid and vulnerability of a woman is fully exposed in front of the camera. Furthermore, the absence of sound contributes to the realism of the film and helps immerse the viewer into the act of solely witnessing and absorbing the context. The fact that there was no dialogue or music also allows the viewer to feel his/her natural emotions rather than being manipulated by the sound. As a result, by solely observing the truth unfolding itself on screen, Brakhage’s Window Water Baby Moving is completely open for different interpretation. All the commitment, care and pain undergone in the pre, during and post stages of giving birth are fully documented by Stan Brakhage, the filmmaker and the father. The combination of composition, colors, lights and camera angles ultimately produces a breathtaking visual poem about the relationship of a man and a woman, and the child they have created together. On the surface, Window Water Baby Moving may be a movie about childbirth, but in depth, Brakhage’s film is probably one of the most thoughtful movies ever made on displaying the magnificence and revulsion that happen from the cycle of life. Overall, Brakhage’s Window Water Baby Moving walks the viewer through a series of montages: the woman’s pregnant stomach in various stages of development, the woman bathing, and eventually giving birth in a sequence of unchronological order. Window Water Baby Moving serves as an artistic expression, capturing a real-life event by jumping between time and space, unfolding each shot with strong intentionality and style. Window Water Baby Moving also establishes a transformation in Brakhage’s filmmaking style, his movement towards the representation of different ways of observing and understanding the surrounding world.
Eisenstein notes in “Firm Form: Essays In Film Theory” that, “Step by step, by a process of comparing each new image with the common denotation, power is accumulated behind a process that can be formally identified with that of logical deduction. The decision to release these ideas, as well as the method used, is already intellectually conceived. The conventional descriptive form for leads to the formal possibility of a kind of filmic reasoning. While the conventional film directs the emotions, this suggests an opportunity to encourage and direct the whole thought process, as well”. Brakhage’s passion for film originates from his dedication for human experience, and he has explored the relationship between the two to a more profound level than any filmmakers. What all of his experimental films shared is an obsession with montage—how different editing strategies could have an influence on how the viewer “intellectually” perceives one image to another. Without a doubt, utilizing the power of montage, Stan Brakhage’s Window Water Baby Moving is rich both in content and aesthetics, opening up several questions about knowledge and perception. The montage sequence is created with subtlety, constantly keeping the viewer off the balance, hiding in and out of every frame, long haunting him/her hours and days after the film has ended.
Works Cited
Window Water Baby Moving. Brakhage, Stan. 1959.
Eisenstein, Sergei. Film Form: Essay in Film Theory. A Harvest Book. 1929.