The short films of Kenneth Anger are certainly NOT for the casual film goer! The best way to describe them is avant-garde--and often make little sense, as they are not meant to be shown to the masses. Some are incredibly artistic--like filmed work of art. Some are really cheaply made and definitely look it. Regardless, they are a challenge to watch and I very strongly recommend you see them with his commentary activated. So why would I see these shorts? Well, in a recent interview I noticed that John Waters credits Anger for much of his inspiration. And, since I have seen all the films of Waters that are available (a couple very early ones aren't), it seems natural I'd give Anger's films a try. This and four other reviews are best on the DVD "Films of Kenneth Anger: Volume 1".
I notice that one reviewer gave this film a 1 and called it the worst of Anger's films. While I can really understand someone not liking his work (it is a very acquired taste), I can't see attacking this film in particular, as it is one of the loveliest and most technically amazing shorts of the age. While I do NOT generally like art films, this one is amazing.
Much of the reason I was so impressed with this film was as Anger described it in the commentary track, I realized just how difficult the film was to get it to look the way it did. To give the film a wonderful blue luminous quality, he actually filmed the short using black & white film shot through a red filter. Then, he had the result developed using color stock! To make the scenery at Tivoli's water garden look bigger, he used a midget as his actress! And, to get the water to cascade just right, he also used varying speeds with the camera. I was quite impressed that a film maker who was not at all "Hollywood" but an avant-garde film maker would know to do this. Additionally, the use of Vivaldi's "Winter" from "The Four Seasons" was perfectly timed to the film and made the whole thing a treat to see.
If you are looking for an art film, it doesn't get a lot better than this.