Plots(1)
Jan de Bruin specialises in the purest form of documentary: a slice of reality captured in a single shot. His style is reminiscent of the archetypical film - the one by the Lumière brothers. They were the first to put a frame around a fragment of urban life or human interaction, and noticed how it produced something miraculously new. An everyday activity assumes dramatic meaning and is charged with symbolism. Silent Retreat begins with the conclusion, which makes everything that follows, or precedes, inevitable. The setting of the film is a crowded bar downtown, the time of the week is probably Friday afternoon, the protagonist a man who has withdrawn into a comforting intoxication. He can barely keep his eyes open and the wine down. Right at the moment he feels at his worst, the time elapses slower than ever. His head turns left and right. He looks at his friends and the camera with dazed eyes, but he doesn't really see. Mumbling and nauseated, he withdraws. Jan de Bruin captured the scene from the other side of the bar. Patient and quiet as a predator, he waited for the right moment of inspiration, revelation and creativity to turn on his camera. The result is a mirror we'd rather not look into. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)
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