Nuit Blanche

Every now and then a film or a short comes out that defies conventional story telling. Remember the opening sequence to “Up” where Carl’s entire relationship with his wife Ellie was shown in 4 minutes of action with little to no dialogue? In that short time, the directors were able to convey how special their relationship was. I remember looking around the theaters to see people not just crying, but literally bawling their eyes out. I posit that no movie has ever so successfully made an audience truly empathize with a character that soon into a film.

In a similar manner, Arev Manoukian’s beautiful short film “Nuit Blance” eschews dialogue in order to allow amazing visuals and music to tell its story. Set in a noir Paris, this film captures the fleeting, yet powerful split second moment when two strangers’ eyes meet and for that brief spell, nothing else in the world exists. As they gravitate towards each other, shrouded in a veneer of glass and metal, the slow motion shutter camera beautifully highlights the violent nature of the magnetism between potential lovers, which neither windowpanes nor moving cars have the power to deter. Despite all the obstacles in their path, the stranger’s gazes are unwavering and for this moment, suspended in time, everything else is literally dropped. The eternity that it takes it takes for the two to touch only heightens the drama and the seemingly hopelessness of their eventual meeting. Although all of this only occurs in a single glance, Manoukian seems to say that there is nothing more powerful than that ephemeral connection with a perfect stranger

– Adam Biederman, Content Engine intern