Desistfilm (1954) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language

1954 · 7 mins

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Directed by

Stan Brakhage

Starring

Lawrence Jordan, Robert Benson, James Tenney, Walter Newcomb, A. Austin, Yvonne Fair

Four young men and a young woman sit in a room; she smokes while one strums a lute, another reads a magazine, and two fiddle with a string. A young man bursts in with a cigarette, prompting her laugh. As the others stay absorbed, two become a couple, sharing a kiss and a dance. The four are startled, rush out in a frenzy, then return, shaken by sexuality's power.