A long slow walk down a dimly lit corridor, the statuesque and elegant silhouette of a woman walking, and the subservient, almost helpless figure of the love-struck man following her provide the main set up for i could have, what looks to be—but apparently isn’t—a music video for “Nothing’s Gonna Hurt You Baby” by the super compelling band, Cigarettes After Sex.

The movement is minimal and completely wonderful—I love the helpless jerkiness of the man following in contrast to the woman’s steady, unstoppable, stride. Likewise the simplicity of the camera movement compliments the choreography with its changing points of view—sometimes over her shoulder looking back and down at the man, sometimes just behind him and looking ahead and up as he all but crawls on the floor towards her, mixed with extreme close ups of the man’s feet or medium shots of him slipping down the wall. At the end of the hallway a light seems the promise of some resolution, but after they finally meet face to face we wonder…  was she ever there to begin with? And then there’s the fact that the man and the woman are both remarkable looking, with an amazing intensity to their gaze… I absolutely love the song, which bares a slight resemblance to one of my all time favorites, Mazzy Star’s “Fade Into You,” the video for which I also adore by the amazing director Kevin Kerslake, a long time friend and partner in crime.

Somehow, all these elements make for a short I found to be intelligently crafted, sensitive, and moving. The only problem with is the apparent low resolution of the image quality… not sure why it’s like that in this day and age, but still, I’m loving it.

Directed by Anna Galinova, danced by Alexey Takharov and Evgeniya Mandzhieva, with camera by Alexander Okovitski, I discovered i could have on the FIVER archives, yet another compelling international screen dance festival, this one apparently based in Madrid.

Take a look-see!