See You Next Time
2019 · 6m · United States
Directed by Crystal Kayiza
Genres: documentary, essay film
Tones: contemplative, sensual, tender
An observational portrait of the intimate bond between Arrianna, a Black regular, and Judy, her Chinese nail technician, inside a prismatic New York City nail salon, with ethereal dance interludes echoing their gestural symbiosis.
Picked by Zoe
The scouts
Everyone wants to make a precious portrait of human connection these days, and this one's no different—except Kayiza understands that the real subversion is letting the nail salon *be* a nail salon instead of turning it into a metaphor for something it isn't.
The formal restraint here—observational documentary meeting choreographic essay, neither quite consuming the other—places Kayiza in a lineage of essayists who understand that intimacy requires architectural precision, not sentiment.
That choice to embed dance interludes that literally mirror the hand gestures of the manicure itself: that's the decision that transforms what could've been a straightforward service-economy vignette into something that understands how bodies speak to each other.
Reviews
Crystal Kayiza escorts us into the sacred subculture of the New York City nail salon, and the unique bond that exists between manicurists and their clients. The salon is painted as a sort of oasis, oversaturated with prismatic colors and the soothing sounds of flowing water and soft classical music.