The progress Ange makes in this second segment of the clip is observable and gratifying. The scene begins with Ange explaining that shes smoked some of the cigarettes I left with her on our previous shoot. Interestingly she says she will never smoke alone and she mentions:
I would also never buy cigarettes.
This statement becomes erroneous as the clip progresses; as her packet of cigarettes is depleted she does indeed purchase some more and then some more after that!
Ange makes incredible progress over the several months that the film was shot. Still incapable of fully inhaling and a slight cough in the initial scenes is soon replaced with a confident ability to smoke cigarettes in a more accomplished fashion.
When I ask Ange, is it easier to inhale the smoke now she replies:
I still have to think about it.
By the final scenes which were filmed a few months later she was naturally inhaling and was clearly experienced at smoking cigarettes.
The entire film (both part 1 and part 2) have full on-topic dialogue which focusses on all aspects of smoking cigarettes. Ange discusses the feeling of the smoke in her lungs, brands of cigarettes, her mothers smoking etc. But the real focus is on the journey of a girl in her early 20s who had never sampled cigarettes before who becomes accustomed to cigarettes and learns how to enjoy them.
What I particularly enjoy is the noticeable improvement and evolution of Ange into a regular smoker. Her inhales become deeper, she de-ashes her cigarettes with more comfort, and she holds her cigarettes with less awkwardness.
Something I personally noticed as our shoots progressed was how Ange would drag on her cigarette. An obvious observation would be that her drags become longer, which indeed is the case, but importantly as she becomes more accustomed to smoking cigarettes her fingers part when she takes a drag and then lightly grip the cigarette again as she withdraws the cigarette from her lips before inhaling. A sure sign that shes becoming more accustomed!
Unfortunately after travelling Asia for a few months, on my return to London Ange didnt respond to my request to embark on a follow-up shoot. BUT I have managed to capture her progress from non-smoker to regular social smoker.
If you like to watch novice smokers embarking on a journey to addiction I personally feel this short series is one of the best in the SF community!
