Images of a Lost City
- USA, PORTUGAL / 2011 / Portuguese / Color / Video / 92 min
Director: Jon Jost
www.jon-jost.com
A street corner in Lisbon, Portugal. Women sit on a bench in a stone-paved square at the top of a hill. Youths mess around with motorbikes. People walk up and down the hill. Languid, listless light and wind. A tram. Children having fun playing soccer. The sound of a guitar, overlapping with the long shadows of trees. These may be ordinary everyday scenes, but they are also beautiful and somehow melancholy. What thoughts are hidden within this visual poem dedicated to a “lost city”, filmed over 15 years by John Jost. His Plain Talk and Common Sense (Uncommon Senses) (1987) screened at YIDFF ’89; London Brief screened at YIDFF ’97; 6 Easy Pieces (2000) won a Runner-Up Prize in 2001; and Oui Non (2002) screened at YIDFF 2003.