Monterey Maple Farm 81

The meandering camera establishes a rural Monterey, in the likeness as depcted in Elam’s other Monterey films. “Monterey Maple Farm 81” consists of saturated foliage sprawling almost unimpeded, the exception being a cabin poking into frame occasionally. As the film progresses, the frame cuts to black;images reappear, but ill-lit. Moments pass. The ill-lit structure reappears with clarity. It is a bird feeder of sorts, a bird perched upon it;feasting. Continuing in this clarity, the camera notes a lounging pup and a roaming cat, all at a patient pace. Near the four minute marker, a montage bursts providing accelerated visual information of the cabin and its animals. The pace idles, and then sprints again. The pattern continues a third time: this sequence introduces a goat, seemingly either the nanny or the billy from Elam’s “Monterey Goats.”