Guns of the Trees
Cast & Crew
Jonas Mekas
Ben Carruthers
Argus Speare Juilliard
Frances Stillman
Adolfas Mekas
Frank Kuenstler
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Crucial moments in the lives of five young people living in New York's Lower East Side are depicted in fragmented "stanzas," some 1 second in length, others up to 2 minutes, separated by intervals of white space. Frances is unhappy and desperate; friends are unable to help her, and she commits suicide. Gregory, her lover, is an angry intellectual who becomes guilt-ridden over Frances' death. Frank has sought spiritual liberation as a monk; and Ben is an insurance salesman whose anguish about the world is relieved by his love for Argus, his black lover. Argus, who is pregnant, is a firm believer in the beauty and truth of life. At the beginning of the film Frances' suicide has already taken place, and the others are asking themselves why she did it. The remainder of the film deals with the events that led up to the suicide, including Frances' own activities. The other five feel a common frustration arising from their disenchantment with contemporary society--its corruption and its effect on their minds and bodies. Their quest for meaning in life underscores all their activities. They are seen in lofts, in taverns, in the streets, in suburban fields; at demonstrations and playgrounds; in a monastery garden, and on river banks. Throughout the film four choruses reappear; two figures wearing whiteface and business suits cavort in a vegetable field; air raid sirens wail periodically; unidentified voices comment on situations seen on the screen; and Allen Ginsberg reads selections of his poetry.
Director
Jonas Mekas
Cast
Ben Carruthers
Argus Speare Juilliard
Frances Stillman
Adolfas Mekas
Frank Kuenstler
Leonard Hicks
Sudie Bond
Louis Brigante
Barbara Tucker
Jewel Walker
Sterling Jensen
Tina Stoumen
Marjorie Walker
George Maciunas
Marvin Karpatkin
Mel Clay
Anne Flannagan
Stuart Perkoff
Crew
Lucia Dlugoszewski
Daniel Drasin
Allen Ginsberg
Edouard De Laurot
Adolfas Mekas
Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas
Jonas Mekas
Sheldon Rochlin
Sheldon Rochlin
Tom Sankey
Charles Silver
Harrison Starr
Cather Wiley
Sara Wiley
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Originally released in 16mm. Alternative title: Guns in the Trees.
