In The Coat two travelling actors stop on a country road to clarify an old trunk gag but are interrupted by the discovery of two stowaways. All roles seem to suddenly reverse and it is the interlopers that emerge in theatrical dress, perform and disappear into the night.
If these figures refer to the history of cinema, they’re also a nod to the remnants of vaudeville performance that preceded it. In that sense, Sworn’s short film harks back to a subhistory of theatrical moments within movie-theatres, and invokes forgotten performative and social aspects of cinema-going.
Employing a rich mise-en-scène and strong gestures against stark narrative eclipses and a striking absence of subtitling, the film explores how we interpret incongruity.