Romanian filmmaker Andrei Ujică’s TWST / Things We Said Today exists in the world of Beatlemania. It uses archival footage from the lead-up to the Beatles concert at Shea Stadium in August of 1965, following animated cut-outs of young men and women from around New York as they experience the excitement taking over the city. Ujică spends the first half of his documentary firmly within the circle of the Beatles, the latter half around the city––specifically at the World’s Fair, with the film sputtering as it continues forward. But when it’s encircling the most-famed band of all time and the city’s heatwave surrounding them, it excels, drawing in the viewer to the special moments on the outskirts of the TWST‘s central event.
Ujică’s documentary follows two teenagers who give voiceovers explaining their experiences during the weekend leading up to the concert. They’re sketched as near-shadows, people moving through this world without making too much of a fuss regardless of their shared excitement with those around them. These animations attempt to give the audience a viewpoint, and despite the oft-lyrical musings of these characters––some of which come directly from Ujică’s own poetry––they fall flat against the energy of the city and the band visiting it.
When the film settles on a moment, TWST / Things We Said Today feels all-encompassing. Take the Beatles press conference, which happens within the first 20 minutes, as a prime example. The four superstars sit at a table and field a wide array of questions from reporters, answering some, laughing at many, and generally being charming amidst their fame. There’s an undeniable kinetic spirit within the archival footage Ujică has found and chosen. The angles are tight and frenzied, capturing the Beatles as many of us still see them: pseudo-heroes, idols to be revered.
Outside, the documentarian decides to play the entirety of an interview with a sea of teenagers waiting, hoping, praying just to see a glimpse of the Englishmen. It’s not the only time Ujică allows the majority of a single interview to play out, holding onto these spectators around the city in the smack of summer. And it’s never less than engaging, hearing New Yorkers spout about police violence alongside which Beatle they have the biggest crush on as the World’s Fair rumbles next to thousands of air conditioners on buildings lining Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.
As the film moves towards the World’s Fair and the teenage girls attending both the concert and the exhibitions, it loses the raw delirium of Beatlemania, though possibly the film couldn’t exist on that alone. Still it stagnates, instead opting to marinate in the possibility of the World’s Fair––not uninteresting by any means, but missing the fervor of earlier hysteria captured by this footage. If this dichotomy is clearly by design, a central focus turns more meandering and drawn-out.
With the Beatles still reverberating through collective culture, TWST / Things We Said Today contains enough of their power to sustain this film’s entirety. Ujică uses that influence to great effect, even if the singular interviews are much greater than this loose jaunt across a city that’s fully alive yet remains difficult to capture.
TWST / Things We Said Today screened at the 62nd New York Film Festival.