Fragment of Seeking

Fragment of Seeking (1946)

*** (out of 4)

Curtis Harrington wrote, directed and stars in this surreal short. As with most avant-garde films each viewer could possibly take away something different from the story. Harrington plays a man who sees a couple enjoying time together and then he notices a woman standing at a window. For the rest of the film the man tries to track down this woman by following her but something always prevents it.

FRAGMENT OF SEEKING isn't a masterpiece but it's certainly weird and surreal enough to where it's easy to recommend to people. I think the film works nicely as a dream that turns into a nightmare. The first portion of the film deals with the man playfully seeking out the woman but then it grows much darker when he seems to go through various dark mazes trying to get her. I'm not going to spoil what happens during the third act but it's quite good. Harrington certainly makes for a good movie thanks in large part to the way he shows all of this happening. He perfectly captures a dream-like state and manages to build up an atmosphere without any words.