Using an historical lantern-communication system based on light and sound signals, the film addresses fundamental problems and questions of nonverbal information exchange. Working with Joan Jonas, Serra discusses the phrase “One, if by land, and two, if by sea,” the secret signal used by the freedom fighter Paul Revere and other patriots during the American Civil War (1875–1883) to let people know whether British troops were approaching by land or by sea. Paul Revere is an adaptation from two sources: Kinesics and Context (1970), by Ray L. Birdwhistell, and a performance, Choreomania (1971), by Joan Jonas.

Joan Jonas