“More Than a Wall of Steel”

On Tuesday, the new documentary by , And the Worlds That Surround, screened at the New School’s Tischman Center as part of its Earth Day programming series. Romeo, who is an architect, vividly captures the muck of New York’s waste plants and subway tunnels, even as he zooms in on its fine-grain textures (ants crawling over discarded raspberries, raindrops balancing on blades of grass). He opts for tight framing that cuts off the tops of windows and people’s chins, preventing us from seeing neat separations between people, ecosystems, and infrastructure. ’s score, performed live by a cellist and violinist duo, glides and swells over the ambient noise of city streets. During the Q&A, audience members struggled to find the meaning of the film’s visual juxtapositions. Romeo explained that he wanted to create a cinematic version of New York that was “more than a wall of steel” and invited viewers to consider the unremarkable sides of urban life. Where Romeo succeeds is in paying close enough attention to find their beauty.