PETER WEISS, SHORT FILM PROGRAMME #2 – HARMONY AND CONSTRAINT
In 1955, Weiss concluded his early series of films (this time without appearing himself). In Studie IV he continued where the previous instalment had left off, showing how we all have our cross (imaginary or not) to carry in front of disinterested by-standers, showing also by juxtapositions and superimpositions how our condition has remained the same throughout history. This time, the experimental nature of the film is not only rendered by the framing and the mise-en-scène, but also by optical effects and camera movements. In Studie V the multitude of visual effects are also accompanied by geometrical shapes and figures within the frame, this time showing the body of a man and a woman moving more harmoniously with each other compared to the preceding films. In 1956, Weiss made his only colour film, Ateljéinteriör, a more formal exercise than his previous Studies, in which he – aside from adding colour – used prisms and mirrors to distort the image.
Of the documentary shorts of the late 1950s, the most stunning is the 19-minute Enligt lag, which is set in juvenile prison and was subject tocensorship cuts. The opening and closing shots of a man vainly attempting to climb a mountain of gravel could have been from one of hisStudies. Even though the inmates are portrayed only by their movements and bodily expressions without us ever seeing their faces, theynever lose their individuality thanks to the visual aesthetics of the filmmaker.

Jon Wengström