P:O.V. No.11 - Three Recent Short Fiction Films, LAS NUEVE VIDAS

A shot-by-shot reconstruction of Petri Kotwica's
Las Nueve Vidas


Richard Raskin

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Shot 1 (43 sec.) We see a rhythmic movement of maracas and of the bodies of the two beautiful women who are shaking them, as we hear the music played by a Latin band in a dancehall. As the camera tracks back from the bandstand, we see the base player who, in contrast to the smiling women, seems preoccupied by something.


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Shot 1 (cont.) The camera continues tracking back, into the crowd of dancers.


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Shot 1 (cont.) Shot 1 (cont.) When the band finishes playing its number, the public applauds.


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Shot 2 (7 sec.) The band members take a bow, the base player looking even more worried than before.
   
Shot 3 (26 sec.) Outside the dancehall, some people are practicing their dance steps, as the base player runs down a wooden staircase and toward the outdoor toilets. He tries to run into a men's toilet, without realizing that there is a long line of men waiting their turn. They send him away.


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Shot 4 (10 sec.) He runs down a slope and unzips his pants, preparing to pee, only to discover that he is standing over a bunch of women who are relieving themselves.
   
Shot 5 (21 sec.) He runs out onto an icy surface and begins to pee up against a stick with a little red flag on it.


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Shot 5 (cont.)
   
Shot 6 (16 sec.)
He turns and sees a large passenger ship passing nearby, seemingly only meters from where he is standing.


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Shot 6 (cont.)
   
Shot 7 (4 sec.) The ice on which he is standing has begun to crack.


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Shot 10 (20 sec.) One leg plunges down into the icy water, and when he pulls it out, long fishnet fibers come up with it. As he continues to pull the fibers up, he discovers a fish stuck in them and happily takes it with him.
   
Shot 11 (9 sec.) He runs across the surface of broken chunks of ice, carrying the fish. In the distance, music from the dancehall can now be heard.


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Shot 12 (55 sec.) Back inside the dancehall, the music gets underway once again, and when the base player is within frame, we see that he is smiling radiantly as he plays.


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Shot 12 (cont.) Nearly unable to contain the pleasure he now feels, he turns to look at something: it is the fish, lying on top of the amplifier, and flapping its head and tail a few times.


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Shot 12 (cont.) Smiling at the dancers off camera, he winks flirtatiously at someone as the music continues.


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