Jonas Mekas: lost lost lost

Born in Lithuania in 1922, Jonas Mekas was displaced from his homeland by the Soviet and Nazi invasions; “Lost, lost, lost” comprises fourteen years of filming starting from his arrival in America as a political refugee. Filmed over the years 1949-1963 and edited in 1976, the film documents the New York counterculture of the ‘50s and the development of Mekas’ own filming style. In Mekas’ own words “the period I am dealing with in these six reels was a period of desperation, of attempts to desperately grow roots into the new ground, create new memories”. “Lost lost lost” then is a beautifully elegiac poem, a paean to the nature of memory and meaning of experiences wrought in a new land whilst participating in an exciting new sub-culture, burgeoning with possibility for change. Divided into six reels Mekas narrates and places intertitles between sections of film that give context to his images. His empathy for post-war immigrants is transparent; his fascination for the street life of Brooklyn, and in particular the poor suburb of Williamsburg where he lived; Mekas also conveys his melancholy for all that has passed. Reel one deals with Mekas’ displacement and discovery of the city, his enduring loneliness and links with the Lithuanian community; Reel two depicts various social events including a wedding and New Year’s Eve celebration; Reel 3 displays the hold that cinema increasingly has on the Mekas’ brothers; Reel 4 reveals the brothers’ fascination for activism, depicting marches and protests; in Reel 5 Mekas reveals a newfound peace as he reconnects with rural life; Reel 6 marks Mekas’ continuing journey as a filmmaker as he begins to fraternise with poets and artists from the Beat Generation. A diaristic filmmaker and poet, Mekas portrays this period in American history as tumultuous, and his essayist account gives insight into the emotions behind the experiences of displaced persons, personalising the post-War period of American prosperity and social change.