Ghosts Before Breakfast

Hans Richter, 1928: hats, ties, coffee cups, and a man's bowler refuse the morning. Four minutes of objects on strike, Dada as a breakfast table. The Nazis destroyed the sound version; the silent cut survives. Richter, the abstract filmmaker, letting everyday things have a revolution that lasts until the clock wins. Ghosts Before Breakfast is the title. The ghosts are the utensils.