Mark Jenkin's Bait had me hooked (ha-ha) after a few minutes. The mood is immediate, intense, artful but not alienating, unless you expect conventional cinema. Shot in 16mm on a 1976 Bolex camera and hand-processed, Bait not only looks amazing but in a vision of self-evident physical treatment fuses the grit of a Cornish fisherman's life with the very texture of how it's presented. Salty air virtually sprays off the screen. There are many beautiful close-up shots of objects which revel in the kind of detail only a camera can capture and the sea is rendered hyper-real in grainy black and white, creating the feel of it as opposed to simply the sight.
The basic story is about the tension between locals and second home-owners but Jenkin is not just siding with one or the other. It describes complicated and conflicting family relationships, harsh economic realities and how people deal with a changed world.
In a shot of the studio on the website I noticed a picture of William Burroughs on the wall, which made me wonder if his cut-ups in both print and on film had any influence on Jenkin. When asked in the interviews I've seen there's no mention of him. Perhaps, like so many influences for any artist, they were subconscious? Bait is edited in such a way that's very suggestive, at times, of Burroughs' cut up films. I couldn't help but also think of French New Wave rapid cuts whilst watching.
I can't praise this film highly enough. Do watch it when you get the chance.
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