Pasts
Laila Pakalniņa
Latvia | 1995 | 20 min
Language : no dialogue
The day starts when the mail arrives. It is a custom. The film places its focus on the habitual actions of every day life. It starts with the arrival of the truck and continues with the sorting of the letters, which will be delivered house by house. “If there actually exists something predefined in life, it is the delivery of the mail.” (LP)
The mail arrives from the night. It lands on a desk and is processed. Every letter then takes its own path, taken by hand to a multitude of places, people, radically different, unique situations. It’s early in the morning and we start following the post-woman on her journey. She passes houses, landscape and people, composing an inspired collective portrait. The nature of the shots, the meticulous editing and the rigorous black and white photography reveal the unmistakable traits of Pakalnina’s universe. “The post-woman was walking in a special way. She very often unnoticeably changed the rhythm of her steps. That surely was very important. As important as tomato seedlings on the window-sill, as cobble-stones in the sun, as a big dog in a small car. And we enjoyed observing and listening more and more.” Laila Pakalnina
