Film

The film opens onto a rippled image that fills the entire screen, which slowly resolves into an extreme close-up of an eyelid; it opens, slowly closes, opens again, blinks, and then fades into a different rippled image. The camera begins to pan right and up, revealing a wall; we are outside a building, an old factory situated in Lower Manhattan. The camera's movement is not smooth. It is as if it is looking for something. Eventually, it loses interest and pans left and down back to the wall. The camera then shifts violently to the left. A man, The Man, is hurrying along the wall from left to right. He pauses, hugging the wall, and the camera focuses on him. The Man has on a long dark overcoat, the collar of which is turned up and his hat is pulled down over his face. He is hanging onto a briefcase with his left hand whilst trying to shield the exposed side of his face with the other. The Man realizes he's been seen and cowers against the wall. The camera quickly shifts behind him. The Man starts off again, knocking over a trestle and stumbling over a railway sleeper. He charges into a man and woman, knocking the man's hat off. The camera looks from the man's face to the woman's and back again. The man has a moustache and is wearing a pince-nez. They have been consulting a newspaper, which the woman keeps hold of. They both look appalled at what has happened. The camera moves back to a long shot and watches The Man barge through and on his way. The man replaces his hat, takes off his pince-nez, and looks after the fleeing figure. The couple looks at each other and the man opens his mouth to vituperate, but the woman shushes him, uttering a single, piercing sound. Together they turn to stare directly at the camera as an open-mouthed expression takes over their faces; they cannot bear to look at what they have seen and turn their faces away. The action shifts back to The Man, who just reaches and turns a corner. He heads off down the street until he realizes he is at the right doorway. He enters. The camera then cuts to the vestibule. The viewer is directly behind The Man. Stairs lead up on the left, but The Man veers right and pauses, pulling himself together. He takes his pulse and the camera moves in. As soon as he becomes aware of the camera's presence, he rushes down a couple of steps and cowers beside the wall until the camera retreats a little. When it does, he reverses back up to street-level and then begins up the stairs. A frail old woman is coming down. The camera gives us a brief close-up. The old woman carries a tray of flowers slung from her neck by a strap. She descends slowly and with fumbling feet. The Man backs up and hurries down the steps to the right again, where he sits down on a step and presses his face against the balusters. He glances up briefly to see where she is, then hides his head from view. As the old woman reaches the bottom of the stairs, she looks straight into the lens. The expression on her face changes to one of wide-eyed horror. She closes her eyes and collapses. The camera checks on where the man had been, but The Man has made his escape. His coat tails are seen flying up the stairs. The camera chases after him and finds him at the top of the first flight. He looks around to see if there is anyone about. Satisfied, he turns left and, not without some difficulty, opens the door to a room and enters. The camera slips in unnoticed as The Man locks the door behind him and then takes his pulse once more. We find ourselves in a "small barely furnished room." The Man and the camera following him from behind survey its contents: a dog and a cat share a basket, a caged parrot and a goldfish in its bowl sit atop a small table. The walls are bare, apart from a mirror and an unframed picture pinned to the wall: a Sumerian Tell Asmar figurine with big eyes.