What Is This Film Called Love?

Mark Cousins’ cine-essay, inspired by Sergei Eisenstein’s 1930s Mexican odyssey, is a poetic meditation on memory, landscape and walking.

With a few days to spare in Mexico City, no concrete plans and only an HD flip camera for company, filmmaker and author Mark Cousins decides to pay homage to Soviet filmmaking legend Sergei Eisenstein. Inspired by the Russian pioneer’s 1930s travails in the country, Cousins’ embarks on a freeform, associative odyssey aiming to unravel Eisenstein’s notion of ecstasy and define the nature of happiness.

Filmed in Mexico over three days, for just £10, Cousins draws inspiration from a range of musicians, writers and filmmakers including PJ Harvey, Johnny Cash, Chris Marker and Virginia Woolf, to present a highly personal film on memory, landscape and the pleasures of walking.