Our House
/6
- Our House
- Casa noastrã
- 1976
- 8mm film transferred to 16mm, b&w, no sound
- 7min, 35sec
Ion Grigorescu’s film “Our House” centers on the artist’s home and family life and the daily chores that this living situation requires. Shot in black and white with stark contrasts, the film analyzes different parts of the apartment via close-ups of its walls and corridors, starting with the artist leaving the bedroom while his wife is still asleep. As in many of his other films, Grigorescu himself features as the main protagonist, dealing with various objects and with the mirror as an essential prop. With a naked torso, he walks into the kitchen to eat a piece of bread and later on proceeds into the bathroom to take a shower. In between, the camera focuses on a chair and stool and takes a glimpse at Grigorescu behind the camera in the mirror. In the second part of the film, images and film sequences overlap and are superimposed, showing the family at the table and the artist while repairing his film camera. Hence, the filmic apparatus as a meta-reference comes to be of central importance as the tool facilitating Grigorescu’s observations in and around his home. W.S.