The film comprises a stream of symbolic, experimental images. On the soundtrack, Sylvia Plath is reading her Lady Lazarus. This makes the film more literary than the other ‘new directors’ films, but thanks to the excess of the visualisation, it fits in well with the other films. Lady Lazarus tries to translate the poetry of Plath into pictures. It also makes use of fragments from interviews with Plath. According to Lahire, a clear ‘cinematic vision’ can be detected in the work of Plath. The film has been described as a merry-go-round of mirror images.A woman feels irresistibly attracted by Plath’s voice and she becomes a medium for the poet during a spiritual seance. The film was shot during a journey from Massachusetts to Camden, the places which played a role in the life and work of Plath.
One of the most extreme and successful examples of the ‘new directors’ film. A surrealistic burlesque which in its exuberant insanity seems like a radical…
