Hurtle (1998) watch online HD

A black (and rather manly) nun bounces around on her bed while, next door, a white and feminine nun sleeps peacefully. After getting dressed, the two meet by chance in the ladies toilet where they find all the stalls to be engaged. Their physical competition to be next in the queue starts confined to the ladies but quickly spills out onto a train and an open field where cattle are grazing.

I had no idea what this short film was to be about when I sat to watch it and, after seeing it I would still struggle to really put a finger on it. In essence the film is about the fight between two people to get to a toilet that is not occupied, however to just leave it at that ignores the constant religious imagery, silly comic tone and score and the use of backwards film.

I wasted the first few minutes trying to understand what was supposed to be going on and why it was going on before getting the point that this was a ballet – albeit a very unusual one. In some ways it really works and I know it was trying to be absurd but I did find the silly and exaggerated nature of the film to be a little off putting. Of course I am open to the idea that I just wasn't expecting it or prepared for it, and there was still stuff to enjoy in this.

The actual dance is impressive, whether it be in the confines of a train carriage or the open grazing field. The two dancers involved are comic but have great poise and work well together. The bits that are filmed backwards are nice to look at but the fact that they are obviously filmed backwards rather takes away from how impressive they could have been. For example when the nun jumps to the top of the shed in the field it is clearly in reverse and not impressive; ironic really because if run forward it would have been an impressive jump with a beautifully fluid landing! I would also have liked to have a bit more of an understanding of all the religious images involved, as it was I was left to assume that they were all part of making the film feel absurd and exaggerated.

Overall this is a strange little film that you need to be in the mood for because it is rather silly and absurd. For me this took away from the dancing itself and had me wondering why while also wincing at some heavy attempts at comedy, but the skill and movement of the dancers themselves make this worth seeing even if you'll wonder what you just watched.