#767) Hours for Jerome – Parts 1 & 2 (1982)

#767) Hours for Jerome – Parts 1 & 2 (1982)

OR “A Man for All Seasons”

Directed by Nathaniel Dorsky

Class of 2012

Okay, so here’s the deal with “Hours for Jerome”: Filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky has remained adamant that “Hours” only be viewed on film in a theater at its proper frame rate, and that the film never be digitally uploaded anywhere. This, of course, makes viewing “Hours” very difficult for anyone unable to attend a screening, making it one of the hardest NFR movies to cross off your list. Despite Mr. Dorsky’s wishes, the film has recently made its way online. After some initial hesitation, I gave in and watched the film’s digital upload. Out of respect for Nathaniel Dorsky, I will not be including the link to where I found the film, and I encourage you to see “Hours” as intended at an official screening. Check out more information at Nathaniel Dorsky’s official website.

Mr. Dorsky, on the off chance you’re reading this, please excuse me. Or don’t, I can’t tell you what to do.

The Plot: Experimental filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky turns his Bolex camera on his partner Jerome Hiler in “Hours for Jerome”. Filmed in both Manhattan and Lake Owassa, New Jersey (where Dorsky and Hiler lived at the time), “Hours” is akin to a moving photo album; a seemingly random montage of the people, places, and special occasions that make up Jerome’s life, with Nathaniel experimenting with time-lapse footage and assorted lenses. Both parts clock in at about 20 minutes: Part 1 focusing on life during spring and summer, Part 2 on fall and winter.

Why It Matters: The NFR write-up is primarily a rehash of Nathaniel Dorsky and his filmmaking technique. The film itself is described as his “personal devotional” that is “an arrangement of images, energies and illuminations.”

But Does It Really?: Despite not watching the film as its creator intended, I liked “Hours for Jerome”. The film is a vacation to time and space, a “simpler” time when we weren’t recording everything 24/7. Dorsky successfully balances the familiar and unfamiliar, taking what is seemingly someone’s home movies and throwing in enough experimental elements to keep things interesting. I can give “Hours for Jerome” a pass in the NFR for representing Nathaniel Dorsky’s extensive filmography, as well as his (god willing) generous forgiveness towards those of us who watched this film online.

Everybody Gets One: Nathaniel Dorsky first dipped his toe into filmmaking growing up in Milburn, New Jersey, filming nature shorts inspired by the “True Life Adventures” series. While studying film at NYU, Dorsky joined the local experimental film scene at the Film-Makers’ Cooperative, where he met fellow filmmaker and his future partner, Jerome Hiler. The couple moved to Lake Owassa, New Jersey in 1966, where Dorsky filmed footage of Jerome and their home life from 1966 through 1970. After a move to San Francisco and a sabbatical from filmmaking for most of the 1970s, Dorsky began editing the Lake Owassa/Manhattan footage in 1980, completing “Hours of Jerome” in 1982.

Title Track: The title is a reference to “Book of Hours”, defined by the NFR listing as “a medieval series of devotional prayers recited at eight-hour intervals throughout the day.” Side Note: In my tangent rabbit hole on prayer research, I learned there is a St. Jerome who, appropriately enough for our purposes here, is the patron saint of libraries and librarians. Blessed St. Jerome, please watch over Dr. Carla Hayden, and let her successor be someone who has actually stepped foot inside a library before.

Seriously, Oscars?: No Oscar love for “Jerome” or any of Nathaniel Dorsky’s filmography, though in 1968 he won an Emmy as the art photographer of the CBS News documentary “Gauguin in Tahiti: The Search for Paradise”.

Other notes

Like many of Dorsky’s films, “Hours for Jerome” was shot on a 16mm Bolex camera. Dorsky’s films are silent, meaning they can be projected at a rate of 18 frames per second (as opposed to sound film’s 24 frames per second). Dorsky insists that his films be screened at 18 fps because it makes the image appear more abstract, something that gets lost in digital translation.
I watched this not too long after my viewing of “Koyaanisqatsi”, and there’s definitely a connection between these two films: lots of nature shots and experimental timelapse photography with seemingly no rhyme or reason. In fact, this post was very close to being subtitled “Boyaanisqatsi”, but I figured I’ve insulted Mr. Dorsky enough already.
Another NFR movie this film reminded me of was Andy Warhol’s “Empire”, except Dorsky only films the Empire State Building for a few fleeting shots and it’s not a fan-made recreation I duped myself into watching. Yes, I’m still bitter about that almost five years later.
Interesting to see night shots before cameras could really do night shots. Either Nathaniel films lightning striking around Manhattan during a summer storm or he’s just futzing with his lighting equipment.
Speaking of Manhattan: Hey, there’s a couple shots where Nathaniel’s peepin’ on his neighbors! Ethics and consent issues aside, this is pretty much the only way you can get people to behave naturally on-camera, giving us in the audience a taste of the voyeuristic qualities you need to be an effective filmmaker.
Having recently moved to the east coast, this film is serving as my primer for seasons. I’ve heard of this “autumn” you speak of, but have never actually witnessed it; same goes for a winter with accumulated snow. We’ll see how this California boy handles all of that.
There’s only so much I can say about “Hours for Jerome” without it becoming a repetitive listing of “that shot was cool”, “hey, look at that”, etc. While I still feel a tinge guilty about how I viewed the film, I enjoyed “Hours” for what it was: observances and documentation of Nathaniel and Jerome’s life together. (Also, I will point out that I’m watching a majority of these films in a way their filmmakers did not intend; no matter how big my TV is it still isn’t a movie screen.) Despite Mr. Dorsky’s wishes, I still feel I experienced “Hours’ rather than simply watched it. I appreciated the quiet contemplation I was allowed while watching “Hours”, particularly my realization that when it comes to filmmaking, life is interesting enough by itself. Just point a camera and let it happen around you.

Legacy

As of this writing, both Nathaniel Dorsky and Jerome Hiler are still making films: Dorsky most recently completed a series called “Dreams Reveal a Weightless World”, and Hiler completed “Careless Passage” just last year. One noteworthy entry in Dorsky’s filmography is his “Arboretum Cycle” in 2017, filmed at the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Let the record show that I lived within walking distance of the Botanical Garden in 2017, and am only now learning about these films following my cross-country move. I will forever be kicking myself.
Once again, be sure to check out Nathaniel Dorsky’s official website and see if “Hours for Jerome” or any of his other films are screening near you.