The Oud Stays in the Picture

Silent movies are like poems trapped in novels. Certain frames and gestures—shifting hands, a grin, a skein of smoke—stand out with the clarity of a sharp line of verse, but they hurry on to narratives that never keep my interest. Come to think of it, a lot of novels are like poems trapped in novels.

Nada Gordon’s new video “Glory” sucks the narrative fat out of the silents and lets the dream fur fly so you don’t have to. Twice the chrome with half the chassis.