House with Pool

House with Pool by Teresa Hubbard / Alexander Birchler explores missed opportunities. The artist duo interweave the biographies of two women—presumably a mother and daughter—in the setting of an elegant mid-century villa. The two seem to have much in common, yet they do not encounter one another in the film. Older photographs, in which they can be seen, suggest a shared history. Whether the encounters were happy or ended in a quarrel is unclear. The role of the gardener, who comes to the villa’s spacious garden in the morning to mow the lawn but who instead fishes a dead deer out of the pool in a dramatic act, also remains an enigma. A unifying element in the film is the piano playing. The elder woman begins a piece, which the younger woman later finishes. In House with Pool, Hubbard / Birchler employ classic stylistic devices, narrative strategies and techniques of cinema without dissolving the story.