TORONTO — A video that captures the awkwardness of strangers kissing has exploded online, racking up more than 24 million views in two days.
The black-and-white video, entitled First Kiss and directed by Los Angeles-based Tatia Pilieva, is being described on Twitter as both “beautiful” and “sweet.”
It was shot as a commercial for the Fall 2014 collection of L.A.-based fashion line Wren.
Pilieva put 10 pairs of people, reportedly meeting for the first time, in front of her camera with no instructions other than to kiss.
She captured the hesitation and small talk as the couples — straight and gay — psyched themselves up to pucker up.
“You have nice eyes,” one says. The other replies: “Thank you, so do you.”
The video, which runs a little more than three minutes, also captures the sudden intimacy as the strangers smooch.
Most of the pairs pull in close to each other but at least one woman appears to recoil as the man goes in for a passionate kiss.
The participants, described by Pilieva on Twitter as “dear hearts,” are actors, musicians and models — including Langley Fox (model and daughter of actress Mariel Hemingway), Damian Kulash (of OK Go) and Jill Larson (All My Children).
In the comments section on the video’s YouTube page, one viewer called the video “tender, vulnerable and real.”
Another wrote: “It has such raw beauty.”
But not everyone is a fan. Several people criticized the lack of visible minorities in the video and one person called it “sickening” for “teaching kids that kissing random strangers is okay.”
Comments