Nicolas Philibert on DocAlliance

One more generous free offer from ”your online documentary cinema”, the vod DocAlliance, starts tomorrow and runs until June 23:

7 films by Nicolas Philibert, who once wrote the following about his method:

”I feel the need to create a frame for each film, a starting point that I can build upon. This frame consists of the things that I find motivating and exciting when working together with the subjects of the film. When filming starts, the final destination is unknown to me and I don’t know which path I will follow. A lot depends on the things that emerge through work and encounters. Naturally the journey is different with each film...” (A quote from a text for the Finnish Docpoint festival).

Filmkommentaren.dk has posted several texts about the works of the French documentarian. To mention a couple of them – ”La ville Louvre”, ”La moindre des choses”, ”Nénette” and of course ”Etre et Avoir” – all of them available online for two weeks.

Make your own retrospective of films by Nicolas Philibert!

http://dafilms.com/event/125-retrospective-of-nicolas-philibert/

Christian Sønderby Jepsens film

Christian Sønderby Jepsens filmkunst er til diskussion på Den Skandinaviske Designhøjskole 10. april og hans film er månedens emne i FILMKLUB FOF. Derfor samler vi vores blogindlæg og andre tekster om hans film her, og retter dem en smule til.

TESTAMENTET

”Der er Andreas, Christian og mig, Henrik og min far og min mor og min hustru. Alle drikker.” Det siger fortælleren. Det er altså personerne, og han er en af dem, hovedpersonen, første person, ental, og jeg er inde i et familiedrama, i gang med at lytte til og iagttage en sørgelig historie, og det er disse mennesker, jeg skal være sammen med en film lang. Jeg har problemer med at holde mig fast, for jeg kan ikke holde med, ikke identificere mig, ikke forelske mig, jeg kan ikke holde det ud. Jeg stødes fra, hvor jeg skulle trækkes ind og opsluges. Og jeg kan ikke bare afvise filmen, jeg får mistanke til mig selv, til mine evner til at udfylde min rolle, min opgave. Den at være publikum, som her viser sig som et ansvar. Først og fremmest gæstens ansvar, jeg skal være høflig og forstående og accepterende, jeg er i et fremmed land, hos et besynderligt folk, som opfører sig særegent, som taler et anderledes sprog. Men jeg er anfægtet og jeg kommer i tvivl. Jeg holder filmen ude fra mig, undrende.

Jeg er ikke optaget af hovedpersonens projekt, jeg er ikke optaget af instruktørens projekt. Jeg kan ikke lide nogen, fascineres ikke af nogen. Jeg oplever mig selv som ufrivillig kigger, vil genert vende ansigtet væk, se ned i gulvet. Men jeg krummer ikke tæer, dette er fremragende film, det er autentisk, det er ægte. Sådan er det for mig nogle minutter inde i filmen, efter begravelsen, efter mødet med faren, det ubehagelige menneske, efter mødet med broren, denne mærkeligt uinteressante stakkel.

Det gamle ord anfægtelse falder mig ind, jeg er jo altså ikke rørt, bevæget, imponeret, overbevist, jeg er anfægtet af filmen, den bestrider det, som er mig, går imod min kultur, er hævet over min smag, indifferent over for min dannelse. Jeg mærker, tæppet skride under mine fødder. Filmen anfægter mig.

Ulla Boye, samlede tekster om hendes film

Fulde af trodsalthumør behandler hendes film alvorlige sager og konstruerer verdener, hvor udveje og lyssyn overalt er til stede som konkret iagttaget realitet - og den vamle sentimentalitet og organiserede bedreviden helt ukendte størrelser...

Ulla Boye er månedens instruktør i FILMKLUB FOF i Randers. Vi skal se ”Kun med hjertet” og før den klip fra andre af hendes film. Og bagefter diskutere det hele.

LEENDE FILM

Lattermilde Ulla Boye laver leende film. Også om tunge emner. Fulde af trodsalthumør behandler hendes film alvorlige sager og konstruerer verdener, hvor udveje og lyssyn overalt er til stede som konkret iagttaget realitet - og den vamle sentimentalitet og organiserede bedreviden helt ukendte størrelser.

"Ludvig og lidenskaben" fra 1999 er om en enlig mand og hans gennemorganiserede dagligdag, "To må man være" fra 2001 var en folkelig succes på tv vistnok uden lige blandt dokumentarfilm. Det er en række ti minutters film med par, som har været gift i mere end et par årtier og stadig er forelskede. Og fulde af mild latter. "Rêverie", 2002 er korte sansninger i en græsk landsby, et forelsket smil med kant af smerte og "Dage med Kathrine", 2003 er en hjerteknuser af en biografi over en kvinde, som sandelig ikke har haft det let, ikke har det let, det forstår man i hendes overdådighed af begavet og selvironisk fortællekunst, som Ulla Boye har lokket ud af hende. Ja, så det forstås gennem tårer og - ved latter. (Blogindlæg 09-01-2009) 

TO MÅ MAN VÆRE (2001)

Portrættet er en vanskelig kunst. Den som portrætteres skal sidde længe. For han skal iagttages af maleren, som skal finde alle overensstemmelser og uoverensstemmelser. Alle ligheder med sig selv og alle forskelligheder. Fra sig selv. Så dette menneske foran ham skiller sig ud fra ham og bringes i kontakt med ham. På én gang. 

Dobbeltportrættet er endnu vanskeligere. Her går forbindelseslinjerne, disse elektriske impulser, vi benævner udstråling, nærvær, forståelse ikke alene mellem maler og modeller, men også mellem de to.

Herz Frank, Collected Posts on his Works

Always with a camera at hand, be it to catch a moment in life...

HERZ FRANK IN RIGA

The exhibition space is limited but the content is excellent. The film museum in Riga, situated in the same building as the National Film Centre of Latvia, in the old town of the Latvian capital, hosts a presentation of the life and work of Herz Frank, a filmmaker so often written about on this site.

Frank himself took part in the construction of the exhibition that includes photos and texts and clips from his work, plus the possibility to see in full duration ”Ten Minutes Older” (1978) and ”Flashback” (2002), just two of the master’s documentaries. The exhibition, I was told, is running at least until this autumn. (17-05-2012 blogpost by Tue Steen Müller)

www.kinomuzejs.lv

BALTIC SEA FORUM RIGA 2011

Not only young talents pitched in Riga - 85 years old Herz Frank went on stage with his exciting story about Larissa, who has married the murderer of Rabin, and have a child with him.

It was the 15th edition of the Baltic Sea Forum for Documentaries that ended in Riga yesterday with the presentation of a new project by Herz Frank, ”Without Fear”, to be co-directed by the master himself and Maria Kravchenko, with Guntis Trekteris, Ego Media, as the producer. The catalogue annotation goes like this: ”In 2004 Larissa Trembovler, philosophy professor and mother of four, leaves her husband and marries Yigal Amir – the assasin of Yitzhak Rabin. Three years later she gives birth to their son.” The film is in its early production stage and will definitely receive international support when more material is watchable. (14-09-2011 from a post by Tue Steen Müller)

Michael Madsen, samlede blogindlæg om hans film

… Filmen er i stilfærdig blidhed ved sin skildring af himmelnattens poetiske sammenhæng en nænsom trøst. Det skal blive værre i de følgende film, rejsen fortsætter, metoden ligger fast: Opsøge og skildre stedet, spørge de kloge, være nysgerrig, fordomsfri naiv, høfligt insisterende.

MICHAEL MADSEN er (som fraværende hovedperson) månedens instruktør i FILMKLUB FOF i Randers på onsdag 27. februar hvor vi skal se hans FILM og diskutere dem.

Han har længe rejst fra festival til festival med en smuk og klog film, Into Eternity, 2009. Før den havde han færdiggjort Celestial Night og To Damascus, som nok begge kan ses som skridt på vejen og senest har han lavet Middelfart / Gennemsnit. Fire kloge og smukke og sande film efter hinanden. Det ligner en vedholdende tanke, et fortsat arbejde, et stort personligt værk i udvikling.

CELESTIAL NIGHT

Himmelnattens kejser er den danske titel, ”en film om synlighed” hedder det i undertitlen. Og for en gangs skyld er undertitlen ikke irriterende og omklamrende. Den er på plads af to grunde. Den er regulært begyndelsen på filmen, udgør det allerførste udsagn, og den er smuk. Som filmen er smuk. Som Otto Norns titel på en meget ældre, tilsyneladende ganske anden, men på afgørende måder tilsvarende æstetisk-historisk undersøgelse At se det usynlige er smuk, som hele hans kloge bog er smuk. Michael Madsens film er tilsvarende klog. Det er frydefuldt, der er langt mellem kloge film.

I Celestial Night begynder Madsen altså med at overveje synet og synligheden. Læser om en japansk kejser, som var blind. Hvad vil du gøre, nu du er blind, havde hans far, den gamle kejser spurgt, da tiden nærmede sig. Leve blandt de blinde, svarer sønnen. Og faderen ansatte otte hundrede nye embedsmænd, alle blinde. På den måde skete det, at Japan blev regeret ved blindes indsigt gennem en meget lang periode. For det gik godt, må vi tro.

Audrius Stonys, Collected Posts on his Works

Audrius Stonys is the event of the week of the brilliant vod DocAlliance and we have collected our posts and other texts on his work:

THE BIG CENSOR INSIDE

Audrius Stonys made a lecture this morning. I have heard him doing so many times and have written several praising sentences on filmkommentaren.dk – about this filmmaker who is for sure to be considered as a national poet in his own country, and from a world perspective as an excellent representative of a different documentary cinema.

The biggest censors are inside yourself, Stonys said, who grew up in a country occupied by the big empire and who did not really see films in general geting better after the independence. He said so after another pleasant view of the 1978 Herz Frank film ”10 Minutes Older”. I truly believe that film is a conversation between equal partners, Stonys continued, the audience takes part in the creative process, this meeting is the most important part of the filmmaking.

I don’t believe in films without mistakes, he said and went on to show a clip from his own ”Flying over Blue Fields”, where a sport aeroplane lands on a field, a man gets out, parks the plane and goes inside while the camera observes chicken and bushes accompanied by music. No words, I don’t trust them, Stonys said, and showed another clip, from his early work, ”Earth of the Blind”, that has no words at all. I want 

Janus Metz, samlede blogindlæg om hans film

Janus Metz and Lars Skree seek and succeed perfectly, from a humanistic point of view, to bring us into a world that we could not imagine existed in the way it is documented and interpreted here. Even the most horrendous words coming out of the mouth of Rasmus, the platoon commander, or from Ølby, the tattooed constantly joking warrior, are put forward with a no-finger-pointing, non-moralisinggentleness... (Tue Steen Müller)

Janus Metz er månedens instruktør i landets nok mindste og måske også mest forvænte filmklub, FILMKLUB FOF i Randers. Det er anledningen til at samle, hvad vi har skrevet om hans film gennem årene og placere dem under overskriften DIRECTORS, som vi lidt efter lidt udbygger med instruktører, hvis film har optaget os og stadig optager os særlig meget.

FRA THAILAND TIL THY / FRA THY TIL THAILAND (2007 / 2008)

af Allan Berg Nielsen

Stedet introduceres i smukt fotografi, Lars Skree og Henrik Bohn Ipsen er fotograferne. Der er myndighed over disse billeder. Et jysk landskab, som er meget, meget mere end et vindblæst hjørne af Danmark. Det er en egn og en befolkning med en særegen livsstil og en stor værdighed og en bevaret integritet, bekræfter fotografiet for mit blik, som er dannet tilbage i romantikken. Og kvinden, det til en begyndelse handler om, introduceres tilsvarende smukt og sikkert. Hun er egentlig fremmed her, men er så integreret, som det har været mulig at blive her, når man ser anderledes ud og er fra den anden side af Jorden. Og så begynder fortællingen, det er som det skal være, jeg er tryg. Fra dokumentarens begyndelse, i del 1, Fra Thailand til Thy. Og jeg skal bestemt nok blive ved den, det mærker jeg fra første begyndelse. For der er jo en ægte historie derfra, en kærlighedshistorie. Som fortsætter og finder sin afslutning i del 2, Fra Thy til Thailand.

Jørgen Leth on Docalliance

To be repeated:

You can watch 7 of Jørgen Leth’s films for free on the vod Docalliance (link below), a – too use one of the director’s favourite words – generous offer to film lovers all over to see ”A Sunday in Hell” (Paris-Roubaix race), ”Moments of Play”, ”Good and Evil”, ”Notes of Love”, ”66 Scenes from America”, ”Haiti Untitled” and ”The Perfect Human”. A small festival in itself with the usual high quality text intros from the Docalliance people. For free until November 25. A must for all film students! And cinéphiles of course!

To be added:

You are now also invited to watch Truls Lie 2012, director’s cut version of his “The Seduced Human”, 70 mins. long, reviewed on this blog by Allan Berg, in Danish. Here is the intro from DocAlliance:

"What is the meaning of a whole life lived as an observer? 
Danish filmmaker Jørgen Leth has lived in chaotic Haiti for 20 years. In 2010 the catastrophic earthquake changed his life. Was it a turn from aesthetics to ethics?
 This documentary follows Jørgen while he is making his last film Erotic Man in Haiti before the earthquake, all the way up to its premiere. Jørgen also looks back at his films made over 40 years – like The Perfect Human, Life in Denmark, Play, Notes on Love, Good and Evil, Haiti Express, 66 Scenes From America, and his work with Lars von Trier called Five Obstructions. But not least, this inquiry asks how an artist lives existentially with desire, doubt and despair – the three fundamental concepts in the philosophy of Søren Kierkegaard."

www.lethfilm.dk

http://dafilms.com/

Jørgen Leth Collected Texts on his Works

…the Danish director, who has been an inspiration for generations of Danish filmmakers. With Lars von Trier as number one as readers will know from the film”The Five Obstructions”. (Tue Steen Müller)

Mid wednes(day) off from Copenhagen with troubled SAS to Amsterdam to attend the 25th idfa (International Documentary Film Festival). On board is also Jørgen Leth on his way to idfa as several times before. This year to be in the main jury with (among others) Michael Glawogger, and to attend his own ”My Name is Jørgen Leth” exhibition that is part of the idfa ”Expanding Documentary” that opens at 7pm tomorrow November 15th at De Brakke Grond here in Amsterdam.

The exhibition that ran succesfully in Copenhagen – arranged by Danish curator Michael Thouber at the Kunstforeningen Gl. Strand in Copenhagen – gives the visitors the chance to watch (some of) Leth’s films, photos, notebooks as well as listening to his commentating bicycling races like Tour de France. One of the many characteristics of the director, who in the car from Schiphol to the hotel immediately fell into discussions about this one of many passions of the Danish director, who has been an inspiration for generations of Danish filmmakers. With Lars von Trier as number one as readers will know from the film ”The Five Obstructions”.

Which leads to the most important information: You can watch 7 of Jørgen Leth’s films for free on the vod Docalliance (link below), a – too use one of the director’s favourite words – generous offer to film lovers all over to see ”A Sunday in Hell” (Paris-Roubaix race) (PHOTO), ”Moments of Play”, ”Good and Evil”, ”Notes of Love”, ”66 Scenes from America”, ”Haiti Untitled” and ”The Perfect Human”. A small festival in itself with the usual high quality text intros from the Docalliance people. For free until November 25. A must for all film students! And cinéphiles of course!

http://www.idfa.nl/industry.aspx

www.lethfilm.dk

http://dafilms.com/

JØRGEN LETH – MASTER OF DOX

This is how Danish veteran Leth is characterised on the site of ZagrebDox (February 27 – March 6, 2011) in a quite interesting intro text, that also has a greeting to what is called Danish puritans:

“Can ‘eroticism’ be measured? Can it be limited or defined? In his latest film, one of the most significant documentary filmmakers of today, 73-year-old Jørgen Leth (‘The Perfect Human’, ‘The Five Obstructions’) travelled from North Africa to Rio in order to register the form and sense of eroticism, refusing to accept it as a part of the dominant currents of new Puritanism and/or commercialised video-style eroticism of ‘fake breasts and backsides’.

Quite predictably, Leth’s sensual, poetic and unbiased exploration of human eroticism, created during the course of ten years, was harshly criticised by reviewers (The Variety describes Leth’s accomplishment as shameful) and Danish puritans, calling the author ‘controversial’. Another unfavourable element was the fact that Leth, as an honorary ambassador to Haiti, was involved in an intimate relationship with his cook’s under-age daughter, describing the episode in his memoirs ‘Imperfect Man’ and causing great controversy in Denmark.” (Tue Steen Müller 13-02-2011)

Mira Jargil: Turn out the Light

They kiss and embrace. I watch through the window, out in the yard. It’s a ritual. Indeed, it’s love, the terminal behaviour of a marriage in an erotics of thrift. They undress. The camera tracks him. He brushes his teeth. They meet in bed, say goodnight. Loving to polite. The last night. The old place.

TURN OUT THE LIGHT - and how little it takes to make a film

(translation: Glen Garner)

Everything is very matter of fact. The first shot is of a king-sized bed (I later understand it’s the conjugal bed) with two comforters, two pillows. Everything is very neat and clean and airedout.The shot makes that clear. Then we see him. He is of the older generation, the kind that used to alwayswear patterned “Icelandic” sweaters. He still does. He’s wearing one now. That’s no coincidence. Nothing is. He’s busy packing a box, and I understand. He writes a label with a marker and sticks it on: “Ruth’s sewing kit”. I sense his compassion beneath his irritability, which is palpable already in the second shot. He pants with the effort, the first sound in the film.

Mira Jargil, samlede blogindlæg om hendes film

Hun og han kysser hinanden i en omfavnelse. Jeg ser det gennem vinduet, ude fra haven. Det er et ritual, jo, men det er kærlighed, det er ægteskabets terminaladfærd i en nøjsomhedens erotik. De klæder sig af, kameraet følger ham. Han børster tænder. De mødes i sengen, siger godnat. Kærligt til det høflige. Denne sidste nat, dette sidste døgn. Dette gamle sted.

Mira Jargil er månedens instruktør i FILMKLUB FOF i Randers, vi skal se nogle af hendes film og snakke om dem og sætte dem sammen med andres film i generationen og op mod en ældre mesters værk samtidig med, at hendes seneste film Den tid vi har (2011) lever sit gode liv på festivals ude i verden.

DET SIDSTE DØGN (8 min, 2005)

Det er meget nøgternt, det her. På det første billede dobbeltsengen (som jeg senere vil forstå er ægtesengen) med to dyner, to puder. Det er pænt og rent og luftet. Det ses også af billedet. Så er han i billedet: Han er af den ældre generation og fra den gruppe, der brugte islandske sweatre. Han bruger sådan en trøje stadigvæk, han har den på i scenen nu. Det er ikke tilfældigt. Ingenting er tilfældigt. Han er i gang med en flyttekasse, og jeg forstår. Han skriver mærkesedler med tuschpen, klæber dem på: ”Ruths sygrej”. Jeg fornemmer, han er omsorgsfuld bag irritabiliteten. Som også er der, mærker jeg helt bestemt allerede i andet billede. Han puster af anstrengelse, det er filmens første lyd.

Jørgen Vestergaard, alle blogindlæg om hans film

Præsten i Vrensted, Karsten Erbs havde forleden, torsdag den 11. oktober inviteret pensionistforeningen og alle ældre til en eftermiddag i præstegården. Han skriver på sognets hjemmeside, at noget særligt var på færde: ”Vi havde bagt boller og lavet lagkage. Og det blev et rigtig godt kaffebord, men eftermiddagen blev rigtig god også fordi jeg viste to små film af Jørgen Vestergaard om Hanstholm. De to film var Vagt ved Havet (1965) og Havnen (1967). To meget fine dokumentarfilm. Det er instruktøren på billedet under optagelserne i 1965 (FOTO, red.). Og naturligvis så vi billeder fra vores bustur til Hjerl Hede.”

Ja, det er nemlig to meget fine dokumentarfilm, og det er stærkt, at de stadigvæk formidles og ses og netop som de er lavet, med den dybt rodfæstede indsigt i egn, og folk og sprog og selvforståelse, udfordre og bekræfte et publikum med så udbygget konsekvensekspertice som den ved kaffebordet i Vrensted i torsdags. Vestergaards film lever og godkendes hver eneste gang.

SOMMERHESTE (1964) og LANDSBYEN LEVER (1990) 

Det er så godt, at Jørgen Vestergaard sørger for at få sine mange vigtige film fra en lang og i ordets forstand enestående produktion ud på dvd. For disse film har alle årene været noget helt for sig selv, og de vil blive stående som enestående. Som en særlig filmkultur, han er alene om. I hvert fald på det niveau. En kultur i landets midte, som journalister og politikere for tiden kalder nationens udkant.

Ada Bligaard Søby, alle blogindlæg om hendes film

Scene efter scene stilles i kø i disciplineret række og forbindes kontrapunktisk med interview- og dialogmateriale, dokumentariske beretninger i løsreven fastholdelse. Det er meningsfuldt i en ganske anden form for filmfortælling end den normale danske tradition; og det er befriende, så befriende…

Ada Bligaard Søby er månedens instruktør i FILMKLUB FOF i Randers, vi skal se nogle af hendes film og snakke om dem, og 1. november på CPH:DOX får hendes nye film premiere. Den har titlen Petey & Ginger - a testament to the awesomeness of mankind og på dens hjemmeside hedder det kontant om den: “When the global economy collapses the only true victors are those that weren't invited to the boom. Petey & Ginger elegantly and honestly documents two very real characters who semi-happily live on the fringes of I-don't-really-give-a-fuckville-and-that's-okay-ish.” Filmmaker Ada Bligaard Søby again invites us into her ongoing infatuation with the treasure that is the blissfully detached lives of American Losers. Take notes…” Så nu er det tid at samle, hvad jeg til nu har noteret om hendes film:

AMERICAN LOSERS (58 min., 2006)

Det begynder med allerførste scene. Den kvindelige hovedperson inviterer os med et blik i kameraet til at følge efter i denne historie. Det er selvfølgelig ganske ligetil og uskyldigt – og det virker. Man følger gerne med. Det er en kompetent disposition.

Jytte Rex' Kunstnerkvartet

…jeg kan roligt sætte mig ned og fordybe mig i noget af det klogeste, der er lavet på dansk film. Tilsyneladende blot fire kunstnerportrætter. Men nej, de fire film lukker sig op som én sammenhængende tanke om livets omfang og tankens grænse så smukt rollebesat med: Inger Christensen, Palle Nielsen, Pelle Gudmundsen - Holmgreen og Henning Larsen som medvirkende i undersøgelsen af det særlige ved digtet, billedet, musikken og arkitekturen og det almindelige ved kunstnerisk arbejde.

INGER CHRISTENSEN – CIKADERNE FINDES

Jeg glædede mig dengang sådan til at se den film. Det er så sjældent, jeg glæder mig til at se en film. Efterhånden.

Og jeg blev da også helt opslugt af dens én eneste bevægelse af skønhed og klogskab fra først til sidst – dette er film som musik, i den lille time for mig i hvert fald større end musik, selv om den største, Bachs musik, lå nedenunder. Et menneskeliv fra først til sidst, med døden nærværende siden barndommen. "Den sorg mit liv har overhalet.." siger den rolige, omhyggelige digterstemme. Den unge kvinde bliver ældre, men forbliver det smukkeste sted den samme. I stemmen, og i det stemmen siger, og på den måde, den siger det.

Venligt fortæller den om mødet med og fascinationen af den ældre og mere erfarne digter. "Jeg kendte nogle få, Rilke og Eliot især (hvilke omhyggeligt valgte få kendte denne unge kvinde ikke..), men han havde rejst og kendte mange, svenskerne især. Han havde boet et år i Stockholm på et legat..." Det er formuleringerne, som griber mig ved en særlig finhed, også om for eksempel det blot, at leve i Roms varme, "i de sydlige lande", hvor der "ingen påfaldende overgang er mellem krop og verden..." Sådan er bogen Det blevet til, forklarer stemmen. Klogskaben synker i mig som forelskelse, mens Jakob Bonfils ustandselige kamera, Grete Møldrups enkle klippebords-fortælling og Jytte Rex' generøse valg former Inger Christensens liv og digtning til en arabesk. "Piller lidt rust af min kind..."

Vurdering:

Werner Herzog, Collected Postings on his Works

From being an arthouse feature film director known for extravagance and his work with legendary Klaus Kinski, he is now (also) a hit among documentary lovers, even if he would not accept to be a documentarian as his many joyful attacks on the direct cinema people have shown… (Tue Steen Müller)

INTO THE ABYSS

by Tue Steen Müller

Steve Rose from The Guardian brings Saturday April 14 a very interesting article on and interview with Werner Herzog, whose ”Into the Abyss” is screened all over the world in these months. I have taken out this quote from the article that you should definitely read in its full version:

”Into The Abyss (photo) is not overtly about capital punishment. Herzog describes it more as "an American Gothic" – a survey of a Texan landscape of poverty, intoxication, incarceration and death. But he's explicit about his opposition to the death penalty: "I was born when Nazi Germany was still around, and simply because of all the atrocities and the genocide and euthanasia, I just can't be an advocate of capital punishment. There's something fundamentally wrong in my opinion, but I would be the last one to tell the American people how to handle criminal justice."

As well as the documentary, he made another four 50-minute documentaries interviewing other death row inmates. "Not interviewing," he corrects me. "I'm not a journalist; I'm a poet. I had a discourse, an encounter with these people but I never had a list of questions."”

Into The Abyss is out on DVD and Blu-ray on 30 April.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/apr/14/werner-herzog-into-the-abyss

CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS

by Mikkel Stolt

What does a cave being enclosed for thousands of years sound like? Or smell like? This film actually tries to tell us, but first of all it shows us what it looks like. Or to be more precise, it shows us what the 30.000 years old cave paintings look like. And let me tell you right away, that despite being a 3D sceptic I was really flabbergasted by the effect that this format gives you; a unique sense on how the ancient artists used the curves and hollows of the cave walls to create effects that are right down spectacular. Even from today’s perspective this is world class art!

The paintings do take up a lot of time in this film and you actually get the strange sensation that even Herzog himself was overwhelmed by the art in these caves and thus has made a slightly more conventional documentary. We do get a lot of his trademarks, though: The philosophical narration, the “leading” questions to interviewees and the oddball characters, for instance the “perfumerist” who is skilled in finding hidden caves using his nostrils. Also, a typical Herzog-moment comes when his voice narrates that the footprints of a wolf and an 8-year-old boy were found next to each other. Did the wolf stalk the boy, did they walk together as companions or were the footprints sat 10.000 years apart? “We will never know”. Herzog also wants to put art, music and the understanding of human evolvement into perspective and it really does work. But first and last are the paintings themselves of paramount interest to him. Even when we almost think the film is over, we get the best seven or eight minutes of them all: the camera dwelling on the walls with very simple lighting effects and some really beautiful music - an original score by Ernst Reijseger as far as I can detect.

However, a few “buts” arose in my mind. At an early point in the film, one of the scientists asks the crew to be silent so we can hear the sounds of the cave. Herzog can’t stand that silence more than 10 seconds but soon adds a heartbeat and then music, and shortly it gives you an uneasy feeling about the director’s choices. And apart from when we see the paintings themselves; the 3D format is interesting at best and somewhat annoying and distracting at worst.

But in the end the film is just wonderful and Herzog does the unthinkable: he lets us feel that he put the matter of the film in a predominant position because he didn’t have a choice. These paintings are essential to mankind, the film says, and I agree. 5 point nibs (Posting November 14 2011)

2 comments to Cave of Forgotten Dreams:

Leena Pasanen wrote 16-11-2011 22:49:18: Why can't we just face the fact that even the masters can be out of their comfort zone and not fully know what they are doing?! 5/6 is very generous in my opinion.

Mikkel Stolt wrote 21-11-2011 11:27:58: Hi, Leena. Good to hear from you. I usually don't have any problem critisizing the masters (or anybody else :) ). I didn't find Scorsese's Harrison-film especially good and Herzog's "My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done" was an even bigger challenge to watch. However, in this film the problem was maybe that Herzog was too much in his comfort zone. But I must admit I was truly moved by it.

WERNER HERZOGS FILMS FOR PURCHASE

by Tue Steen Müller

Herzog is – mostly due to this blog’s Allan Berg, a true admirer of the work of the German director – one of the most noticed and praised names of this site. If you write his name in the ”search”, you get 33 hits. From being an arthouse feature film director known for extravagance and his work with legendary Klaus Kinski, he is now (also) a hit among documentary lovers, even if he would not accept to be a documentarian as his many joyful ”attacks” on the direct cinema people have shown.

Susana de Sousa D, Collected Postings on her Works

An academic film team would normally make me, a documentary addict, shiver with fear for the outcome of 48, in this case no, for that simple reason that I had seen the team’s previous film that perfectly combined the background of aesthetics, philosophy, history and music with a creative intention… (Tue Steen Müller)

Susana de Sousa Dias at Cinéma du réel 2012 

48 THE REVIEW 2010

by Tue Steen Müller

This is gonna be a bit longer blog text than usual. Simply because this is an extraordinary film that calls for more than an ordinary review. My co-blogger Allan Berg wrote – in Danish and after having seen 30 minutes of the film – that this would probably be the film experience of his festival viewing. It was definitely what it became for me. My hope is that the following will inspire festivals to introduce a totally different approach to writing history. To deal with memories. To seek a new minimalistic film language. And work with music and sound in a new way.

First an introduction to the team behind the film; the info is taken from their website: The director Susana de Sousa Dias - completed a thesis in Aesthetics and Art Philosophy and holds University degrees both in Painting (Lisbon University) and Cinema (National School of Theatre and Cinema). She studied music at the National Conservatory of Music and is currently preparing a PhD in Aesthetics, Art Science and Technology (University Paris 8). The producer Ansgar Schaefer - graduated in German Language and Literature and Political Science. Works as a historian and university professor. The sound designer António de Sousa Dias - composer, Ph.D. in Musicology (Paris VIII) sponsored by the Portuguese Scientific Foundation FCT. Is currently developing a research work on CAC - Université Paris VIII / MSH Paris Nord in the field of music creation and virtual environments.

An academic film team would normally make me, a documentary addict, shiver with fear for the outcome of 48, in this case no, for that simple reason that I had seen the team’s previous film that perfectly combined the background of aesthetics, philosophy, history and music with a creative intention.

And with a sense for image and sound, and the putting the two together. To convey with Still Life. Faces of a Dictatorship (2005) the traumatic past of Portugal under Salazar. The film is 77 mins. long without any narration, built on archive from the 48 years between 1926 and till 1974, when the carnation revolution happened. The archive includes news, war footage from the colonies, propaganda films and photos of political prisoners. The musical score for this film, by António de Sousa Dias, is exceptional, first you wonder why but then you see what it does to the images, making a reflective distance and opens for a new both intellectual and emotional interpretation.

Michael Christoffersen, alle tekster om hans film

De fire film set under ét udgør en samlet journalistisk og dokumentarisk erfaring om international ret lagt ned i ét vældigt værk, som filmet på location disse tidlige år vil bevare sin enestående status som skildring af denne ambition om et samlet retssystem...

LAW OF THE JUNGLE

af Allan Berg Nielsen

Den flotte unge indianerhøvding José Fachin Ruiz er den seneste i rækken af Christoffersens helte, alle jurister på arbejde for et internationalt retssystem. Han her er i en central scene i filmen på vej fra en demonstration langt inde i Perus jungle, værdig, stolt og rank, men, opdager vi, lige nu arresteret og på vej til bank og måneders fængsel og flere mishandlinger, inidlertid også på vej til en erkendelse af, at undertrykkelsen og volden og torturen, forsvindingerne og henrettelserne må bekæmpes i seje og tålmodige juridiske argumentationer i internationalt overvågede retssager på et stadigt udbygget og sikret grundlag af international ret, i hans tilfælde internationale rettigheder for oprindelige folk. Han er jæger og familiefar og leder af en gruppe unge indianere, som har sat sig op mod olieselskabet Pluspetrols metodiske ødelæggelse af deres land. Han hedder José Facin Ruiz, og han læser i dag jura på universitetet i Lima. Den kendsgerning er den lykkelige udgang på Michael Christoffersens film om de forfærdelige forbrydelser i Perus Amazonland under Pluspetrols regime.

Som jeg prøvede at forklare, da jeg i sin tid skrev om Christoffersens Saving Saddam, har jeg det sådan med hans film, at dengang the crime of crimes og det historisk set nye internationale retssystem om disse sager og nu et spirende internationalt juridisk system omkring oprindelige folks krav på ret til jord og søer og vandløb og naturressourcer i de nu fire film er og bliver selve emnet og kernen. I hver film vokser fortællingen og en karismatisk hovedperson sammen med forståelsen af denne jura, denne etik, som altså effektivt kropsliggøres i en smuk bue fra den blide og tænksomme Aspegren i Genocide, over den

Nicolas Philibert, Collected Postings on his Works

I can not think of any European documentarist who has this sense of making beauty out of everyday life as it is being lived by us ordinary people... (Tue Steen Müller)

LA VILLE DE LOUVRE (1989)

by Tue Steen Müller

Produced 20 years ago, this masterpiece of Nicolas Philibert is as fresh as on the day of release. It is a fascinating look at what happens behind the scene at the magnificent museum in Paris. At the end of the film Philibert summarises what was his intention, by showing a long sequence of faces of some of the people, the viewer meets in the film. Yes, he is after people and what people do in an adventurous and sometimes mysterious place like Louvre where he (also) takes us underground to all the art works that wait to be exhibited or never reaches the exhibition area. It is transport, cleaning, restoring and conserving, and guarding, and playing boule on Rue de Rivoli next to the museum, measuring, planning the placement of the paintings in a room before the opening. And so on and so forth, several magical moments, lots of humour, all born by a fascination from the side of the film team. And you sense the director’s écriture right away, as you know it from La Moindre des Choses, Le pays des sourds, Etre et Avoir...

Philibert wast originally only hired to film one of the complicated transports, but stayed in the museum for another 3 weeks filming without any permission before getting this, and a producer and financing... I wanted to avoid bureaucracy, Philibert says in the bonus interview on the dvd (Éditions Montparnasse). Nobody actually had problems with us hanging around, as they already knew us. The film is a beauty because of the constant thinking in images, and the total concentration, as he also says is needed, to be ready to catch important moments, and film small stories that in the final film is cut in the way that you leave a theme and some people to come back to them later.

The film will be shown saturday April 25 on ARTE in connection with the Theme Day dedicated to the 20 years of the Louvre pyramid. (Blogpost April 23 2009)

LA MOINDRE DES CHOSES (1995)

by Tue Steen Müller

Nicholas Philibert is here. Three films have been shown, Le Pays des Sourds, Retour en Normandie and La moindre des choses. Last year the Syrian audience could enjoy Être et Avoir. Philibert did a master class, denied to be called a master, talked for two hours with a lot of charm and commitment, especially about "La moindre des choses", which is for sure a Master's Piece. Shot in 1995, the director went to the psychiatric clinic called la Borde, filmed the people in the institution, staff and patients, and followed the rehearsals and staging of a theatre piece by Polish Witold Gombrowicz. What comes out of it is a beautiful hymn to life