Story of a Day

begins as an observation of the tranquil existence of farmers living somewhere in rural Latin America. The day begins. A woman touches up her eyebrows. A man shaves. The chickens are let out and goats are fed. Little or nothing is said, but the soundtrack gradually evolves into a subtly rich combination of environmental and added sounds. This observation takes on a more contemplative aspect when attention shifts to other characters at other locations. In this document of a single day, Rosana Matecki tells an abstract story about a random selection of human lives. Whereas Walter Ruttman used the dynamics of the daily cycle to create a portrait of Berlin in , Matecki takes the passing of the day as a medium for rites of passage. Nonetheless, she does not resort to the cliché of sunrise and sunset as symbols of birth and death. In , death comes in the morning, while elsewhere a wedding is being prepared. In meticulously framed shots, she shows people coming together for collective experiences: the ritual slaughter of a goat; the burial of a loved one; a young woman's dance ritual apparently intended to charm a man; and, in the evening, a birthday party at which at least one guest has more alcohol than is good for him.