Courtesy of Shell International

This short film charting an automobile's journey from the city to the seaside is a perfect example, in miniature, of the 'pure film' technique developed by its director, Geoffrey Jones. Although only two minutes long, Shell Spirit is remarkably dense, with its staccato-cut images and bouncing melodies building to a dizzying pace.

The film begins with a close-up of an eye, one of several repeated motifs. From here the journey begins, with rapid shots of tires, telephone wires, fences and city streets giving way to country scenes of meadows, a single flower, a horse, a trio of pigs. By the film's conclusion we are at the seaside, fields giving way to sandy beaches and a single gull swooping into the surf.

Shell Spirit also marks Jones' first use of the African Kwela music, its bouncing rhythms and soaring penny whistle melodies providing the perfect accompaniment.

James White

*This film is included in the BFI DVD compilation 'Geoffrey Jones: The Rhythm of Film'.

Click titles to see or read more