Impressions of Time

In this poetic film essay, Nina Hedenius poses some fundamental questions: where do I come from? Where are we going, both as a society and as a species? What is the meaning of our existence? What, exactly, is time? Hedenius draws ample material from these questions in an investigation that reflects on her own body of work, which covers almost half a century. Throughout the years she has recorded scenes from daily life, both sublime and mundane: from the birth of a child, a Christmas celebration and the wait for inevitable death to a child being read a story and the mopping of a floor. She uses these fragments from the past in an attempt to interpret the present. Making ample use of contrasts, she compiles a series of images that sketch a profile of time. The silence of a house in the twilight blends with anonymous street views. The rural world from films like (1996) and (2008) juxtaposes with the hustle and bustle of modern times. The sober life of the old farmer contrasts starkly with the hyper-consumerism of today. We are increasingly oriented towards the exterior, explains the voice-over, to the detriment of content and substance.