Misericorde

Synopsis

In the Middle Ages a misericorde was a weapon used to put a wounded knight out of his misery. As a theological term, it refers to forgiveness and compassion. In French it has been used as an invocation, notably in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot: “Christ have mercy on us!” That there may be no one listening (or arriving) remains a central anguish, felt in the depression, addiction and other disorders, that are normal responses to increasingly abnormal culture.

This film strikes the chord of even deeper anxiety, moving through a dreamscape of distorted mirrors, fluctuating boundaries, and uncertain identity. A man fractured in narcissistic multiplications, a woman overtaken by sorrow and grief, are lost both to themselves and to each other.

Yet there is a beauty to their shared ordeal, a nature pulsing with possibilities as near and intimate as they seem out of reach. It suggests the accord that comes with awareness, the passion that springs from despair.

Credits

Natasa Prosenc Stearns, Director, Živa, Hotel Diary, Souvenir, Evening
Natasa Prosenc Stearns, Writer, Živa, Hotel Diary, Souvenir, Evening
Natasa Prosenc Stearns, Producer, Živa, Hotel Diary, Souvenir, Evening
Natasha Maidoff, Key Cast
Carmela Segal, Key Cast
Alan Joseph Marx, Key Cast
Milko Lazar, Music
Lisa Stoll, Cinematography